Figures released today by construction data specialists reveal that up to a third of new homes could be exempt from meeting the Government’s Zero Carbon homes standard, if plans outlined in the Queen’s Speech last week are followed. In last year’s Budget, the Government declared that every new home in Britain would have to be constructed to a Zero Carbon standard by 2016. But in the recent Queen’s Speech, it was announced that homes built on ‘small sites’, which it is thought could apply to schemes of up to 50 homes, will now be exempt from this standard.

While the Government is yet to give its definition of ‘small sites’, 12.4 per cent of all residential planning applications submitted last year were for sites of fewer than 10 homes, or ‘minor developments’. Sites of 50 or under, which the Home Builders Federation believes could be the upper limit for the exemption to kick in, accounted for 36.4 per cent of all residential planning applications.

Michael Dall, lead economist at Barbour ABI, commented: “There are still many questions to be answered about the Zero Carbon exemption, such as how ‘a small site’ is actually defined and how many new homes will fall under this category.With Allowable Solutions legislation finally set to be passed, contractors will find it easier to mitigate carbon emissions off-site. But the news of a Zero Carbon exemption will no doubt upset many environmental groups who could see it as a counter-productive move on the Government’s part.”

And indeed, Paul King, Chief Executive of the UK Green Building Council, commenting on the announcements said “The Coalition will laud their green credentials by claiming to have delivered on the promise for all new homes to be zero carbon from 2016. This has undoubtedly been hard-won by the Lib Dems, but unfortunately they are at risk of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory by letting small developments – a large chunk of the housebuilding market - off the hook. Zero carbon homes save a fortune for households in energy costs and are better for the environment.

“However, the policy of allowing developers to pay into a fund to offset emissions they cannot reduce is a sound idea in principle, despite its lukewarm reception this week. If implemented properly, this could lead to investment in local, community energy schemes and drive innovation in clean technology. On the other hand, a weak scheme, that generates little investment that has no connection to the housebuilding which is taking place, would be a deeply disappointing outcome.”