The general election of 4^th July was, by any standards, a momentous victory for the Labour Party. Democracy has given them a clear mandate to lead and to rule, and that deserves our respect and support.

And it’s no surprise that this new broom is already starting to sweep clean, with a raft of policy changes designed to unlock the planning process and accelerate housing and infrastructure development.

The so-called ‘grey belt’ is foremost amongst these. But whilst it’s a triumph of bold lateral thinking, and deserves kudos from anybody in the construction sector who has done battle with planning deadlock - us at Green Building Design included – does the sector have the skills and competence to deliver on it?

Here’s why we think there’s cause for concern.

 

What is the grey belt, anyway?

Let’s start with some clear definitions, and some transparent and undramatised numbers.

The Labour perhaps got off on the wrong foot with this one when it described the grey belt as “poor quality and ugly areas” – after all, this doesn’t exactly inspire confidence to build there. But the sentiment is actually spot-on, as land of this designation includes things like disused car parks and wasteland.

But the special condition that gives rise to the term ‘grey’ is that these unattractive areas are exclusively those on green belt land - nowhere else.

Essentially, Labour has positioned these tracts of land as brownfield sites that let the green belt down. And as they serve no purpose within the green belt, Labour has created a sub-belt in which they can.

 

What will be built there?

Labour’s housing pledge over the next five years of its tenure in Government has earmarked the grey belt for the development of many of these new homes.

And the rulebook is being changed to suit. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said that an overhaul of planning rules would see councils in England expected to prioritise building on brownfield sites and poor quality areas in the green belt.

If this seems like a lot of development that will eat away at the separation between the rural and the urban (or at least suburban), it’s worth putting things into perspective.

The green belt covers only about 13% of land in England, and the grey belt areas will, by definition, represent a very small proportion of this – less than 1%, according to independent research.

But is the construction industry in the UK competent to deliver 1.5 million new homes that meet quality, energy efficiency, and sustainability standards?

Recent industry research casts some doubt on the matter.

 

Competence shortfalls could scupper Labour’s plans

The report concerned, which was authored by University of Cambridge academic Tercia Jansen van Vuuren, and published by the Construction Leadership Council (CLC), deals with the absence of an installer competence framework in the industry - and how this is negatively impacting sustainable construction practices and the drive to net zero.

And whilst the report focuses mainly on retrofitting existing properties, the key findings suggest that the building and compliance of new properties is also affected by poor competence levels.

In fact, in the five ‘super sectors’ listed as ripe for a competence overhaul, ‘engineering services’ was clearly listed. This is what we at GBD do every day, and it’s every bit as important for meeting energy performance standards (EPC and MEES) in new builds as in retrofit projects.

So until that competence framework is in place, does Labour really have any hope of accessing the kind of construction expertise needed to ensure its 1.5 million new homes aren’t a carbon emission catastrophe waiting to happen?

 

The everyday proof

Certainly, here at GBD, this is an issue we hear about frequently. Take the fitting of a heat pump, for example.

These devices have the potential to be a sustainability game-changer. As we’ve explained in a previous post, the seasonal coefficient of performance of a heat pump is around four times higher than agas boiler, reducing the energy needed and saving on emissions and costs.

But they can only deliver this level of performance if they are expertly scoped, installed, and commissioned.

At GBD, we carry out thermal modelling of a property to determine where (and indeed whether) heat pumps will perform optimally, before we even contemplate installing them. Once installed, they’re commissioned, tested, and monitored to understand the efficiencies these deliver and how they could, in some circumstances, be improved.

The same goes for other energy-efficient solutions – solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, for instance – as it’s perfectly possible for multiple energy-saving technologies to conflict with each other, and send bills and emissions the wrong way, if they’re not installed to work with each other.

But what’s the day-to-day reality of these kinds of installations? They’re done by fitters, not qualified installers.

The plumber who has been doing a sterling job installing gas boilers for 20 years is typically not competent to kit out a home or a business with energy-efficient technologies – even if the law (and their insurance) says they can.

 

Labour’s housebuilding problem in a nutshell

In short, Labour is going to struggle to find enough people competent in sustainable construction methods and processes to deliver new housing to the environmental standards required.

Unless, that is, that competence framework can be up, running, and effective inshort order.

We’re watching closely…

 

Get in touch to find out how energy-efficient technologies from GBD can help both new builds and retrofit projects achieve and exceed EPC, MEES, and other sustainability targets.