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Wales sets national green building standard |
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8 May 2009, 1:58 PM
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Most new buildings in Wales will have to reach Code for Sustainable Homes level 3 from September 1st this year. Measures announced today by Environment, Sustainability & Housing Minister Jane Davidson are intended to cut carbon emissions and improve the overall sustainability of the Welsh built environment.
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The innovative Welsh Assembly Government planning policy makes Wales the first part of the UK to set a national standard for both private and public sector building to be met through the planning system.
For new homes this will:
*reduce their carbon emissions by more than 31 per cent compared to current building regulations through energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy
*reduce the consumption of water
*use more sustainable materials
Launching the policy Ms Davidson said: “This is another demonstration of the Welsh Assembly Government’s commitment to protecting our environment for future generations. I am determined to use the planning system to move towards zero carbon buildings.
“Making our buildings greener will play an important part in reducing our carbon footprint as the built environment is the largest contributor to greenhouse gasses in Wales. The way in which we construct our homes and buildings accounts for 40 per cent of our total carbon emissions. We need to do everything we can to make new buildings, from our homes through to our offices, as environmentally friendly as possible. The new policy will play a key role in achieving this.”
Housing proposals will be expected to meet the Code for Sustainable Homes Level 3 and non domestic buildings will be expected to meet the BREEM ‘Very Good’ standard as a minimum.
The new planning policy is the latest Welsh Assembly Government action to make the planning system work towards a green agenda. In November last year Jane Davidson announced the UK first green building charter, with more than 50 representatives of the building sector committing themselves to support progress towards a built environment that contributes low or zero net carbon emissions as practically possible.
The Welsh Assembly has set a target of reducing emissions in devolved areas by 3 per cent from 2011.
Peter Davies, Commissioner for Wales, Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) said:
“Making our buildings more energy efficient is vital in tackling climate change, so we welcome this step towards the Welsh Assembly Government’s aspiration of zero carbon new buildings from 2011. With Wales leading the rest of the UK in this field, the Welsh construction sector now has a huge opportunity to gain competitive advantage in this growing market, and a substantial role to play in cutting greenhouse gas emissions."
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