The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement announced the creation of 400,000 homes by the end of the decade. This is hugely welcomed, however is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to helping the current housing crisis and will still mean we have 40% less homes than required. Government funds must be channelled to create … Continue reading “400,000 homes is the tip of the iceberg”
In January 2014 the Welsh Minister for Housing and Regeneration agreed to fund a series of pilot schemes for the design and installation of fire sprinkler systems in social housing in Wales. This was in preparation for the introduction of the new requirement for fire sprinklers in new and converted houses and flats which will come … Continue reading “Sprinkler systems to be fitted in all new and converted housing in Wales from 2016”
An innovative new app for social landlords and housebuilders, developed by Building Research Establishment (BRE) in partnership with Cruden, has officially been launched by Deputy First Minister, John Swinney MSP. [pullquote]The RetrofitLab App has wide-ranging social, health, environmental and energy saving benefits. – Allan Callaghan, Cruden[/pullquote] Mr Swinney visited the award winning BRE Innovation Park … Continue reading “Innovative App could help Social Landlords Tackle Fuel Poverty”
In recent years there have been different views expressed about the value of investing in sustainable buildings. On the one hand is the view that green buildings can be more valuable – being cheaper to run, attractive to tenants and more secure against the impacts of increasing sustainability legislation. On the other there has been … Continue reading “Do green buildings pay?”
The latest expert guidance on designing, specifying, installing and maintaining grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in the UK is now available from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET). With expert technical input from the BRE National Solar Centre, the IET Code of Practice for Grid Connected Solar Photovoltaic Systems gives solar PV system designers … Continue reading “Raising the bar for quality in the solar PV industry”
