Builders attack green homes rule

Ashley Seager
The Guardian
August 14 2007

Housebuilders are trying to persuade the government to ditch a key policy designed to cut carbon emissions through constructing green homes. Britain's renewables industry and many local authorities are concerned that intense lobbying may have persuaded the government to rethink.

At stake is the so-called Merton rule, named after the London borough that established it in 2003. It requires any new building to reduce its carbon emissions by 10% through the use of renewables. More than 150 local authorities have either introduced it or are about to adopt it. Last year, the housing minister, Yvette Cooper, said all local authorities should adopt a Merton rule. She will shortly issue a statement updating guidance on building practices, but there is growing concern that the House Builders Federation (HBF) could kill off the Merton rule.

The HBF wants a national, rather than local, strategy for delivering the government's plan for new homes to be zero carbon from 2016 onwards. The HBF's chairman, Stewart Baseley, has repeatedly called for a national strategy phased in over the next decade, arguing that action at local level will lead to confusion and higher costs.