The Construction Centre Supports the Good Homes Alliance

The Construction Centre Supports the Good Homes Alliance

The Construction Centre supports the Good Homes Alliance, LowCarb4Real project.

The Construction Centre.co.uk today announced its support for the Good Homes Alliance, which aims to close the gap between the theory and practice of building sustainable homes in the UK. The Construction Centre has already highlighted how difficult meeting the higher levels of the Code for Sustainable Homes would be for housebuilders and now with the added economic downturn, it said the pressure was significantly increasing.

The Code for Sustainable Homes became mandatory for all new build homes whether public or private sector projects in March this year and ranges from Level 1 to Level 6; the highest award being a zero carbon home. The LowCarb4Real project initiated by the Good Homes Alliance seeks to highlight problem areas throughout the build process, to ensure housebuilders have the clear and logical guidelines to follow, in order to successfully build and create sustainable homes from level three of the Code and upwards.

In association with Leeds Metropolitan University and University College London, a six year study has already taken place on a building project at Stamford Brook in Altringham. Initial analysis has highlighted that current building regulations and on site project management methods are causing confusion and hampering successful building procedures.

Neil May, Chairman of the Good Homes Alliance said “Meeting Levels 3 and above of the Code for Sustainable Homes is extremely complex and, ideally, we need to orchestrate a culture of change in the way we approach the entire construction process”

He continued “The findings clearly highlight an urgent need to improve training and education at all levels and we hope that LowCarb4Real will contribute significantly to this aim. It is vital that we share experience across the industry in order to make progress.”

The Construction Centre.co.uk said that in order for housebuilders to fully realise the practicalities of building high level sustainable homes there must be a clear and logical building process which can be fully managed in terms of regulations, cost, construction, and eventual sale.

Richard Simmons, Managing Director at The Construction Centre said “The Code for Sustainable Homes is absolutely necessary in order to bring the building industry in line with government targets to reduce carbon emissions. However regulations and tweaks are constantly being implemented across the board which simply only adds to the confusion clearly highlighted by the LowCarb4Real project. The house building industry is experiencing one of the biggest business challenges it has faced for a long time and adding further to this burden will not be welcome. However if there are accurate cost projections and a set of building regulations which are clearly achievable, the building industry can respond effectively. If there is only confusion, there will be no discernable move towards the 2016 target of zero carbon new build homes.”

The Construction Centre said it fully supported the research and goals of the Good Homes Alliance and said it would continue to highlight the need for clear policy and regulations in order for the building industry to fully embrace new methods and processes for building sustainable homes throughout the UK.

More information can be found at
http://www.theconstructioncentre.co.uk
http://www.theconstructioncentre.co.uk/news/latest-news/

Notes for Editors:

www.theconstructioncentre.co.uk

The Construction Centre: Number 1 for delivering results on products and people

Targeted at consumers and the building industry, The Construction Centre has the largest online directory containing over 10,000 UK product manufacturers and suppliers with over 97,000 product search terms. Additionally there are over 50,000 contact details for merchants, industry professionals, tradesmen and contractors. Local Authority planning websites, trade publications and jobs can also be directly accessed from The Construction Centre.

Based in Warwickshire The Construction Centre is part of the UK250 Ltd group.

Contact:

Angela Gallacher (Head of Press and Marketing)
Telephone: +44 (0)1926 865825
Address: 1 Alpha House, Farmer Ward Road, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, CV8 2ED
www.theconstructioncentre.co.uk