On first sight this might look an encouraging development, but when you 
compare it to the scale of the problem it is seen to be totally 
inadequate.  Most of these new developments are going to be around in 
the year 2050 and according to the Green Party Manifesto for a 
Sustainable Society we are going to need to cut our carbon emissions by 
about 90% by then, the developments ought to be generating at least 90% 
renewable energy not 10%.

Chris

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	Green rules are spreading out of London
Date: 	Mon, 31 Oct 2005 19:15:09 +0000
From: 	Chris Keene <[log in to unmask]>
To: 	chris keene <[log in to unmask]>



Developers join climate of change

Green rules are spreading out of London, says Terry Slavin
Sunday October 30, 2005

Observer
The Mayor of London has seen the city's future, and it's green. Ken 
Livingstone's radical energy strategy, which requires all planning 
applications for developments referrable to him to generate at least 10 
per cent of their energy needs from renewable sources, is having a 
far-reaching impact on property developers as they are forced to get up 
to speed with wind turbines, solar panels and borehole cooling - and 
take the cost of installing the new technologies on the chin.

Only large developments need a green light from the mayor's office, but 
the 10 per cent mantra is also on the lips of local councils. A 
grassroots planning revolution that began in south London is fast 
spreading across Britain.

Adrian Hewitt, principal environment officer of Merton council in 
south-west London, which was the first to bring in a 10 per cent 
renewables requirement for commercial developments a year ago, says 87 
councils across the country have followed Merton's lead. In London 
alone, 17 of 33 other local authorities have a similar requirement. 
North and south Devon, Cambridge, York, Milton Keynes, Canterbury, the 
Isle of Wight and Gateshead have also espoused 10 per cent and 
Leicester, Liverpool, Edinburgh and Brighton will not be far behind.

Some developers have embraced the revolution. Neil Pennell, project 
engineering director for Land Securities, the UK's largest quoted 
property company, said: 'We are all conscious that we have to provide a 
contribution to mitigating climate change.'

He said that Land Securities was incorporating renewables and energy 
efficiency measures in its design of office developments long before it 
was impelled to do so. 'But a lot of companies won't do it voluntarily. 
It's right that [local] government creates targets and takes the whole 
marketplace along.'

Quintain Estates, which is leading the £1.3 billion regeneration of the 
land around Wembley Stadium and, with partners Lend Lease, the £5bn 
regeneration of the Greenwich peninsula, has announced a 50/50 joint 
venture with Bioregional, initiator of the BedZED zero carbon 
eco-community in south London. The joint venture, BioRegional Quintain, 
plans to build 500 homes a year on BedZED principles around the UK.

Quintain director Nick Shattock said his company staunchly supported 
what Livingstone is doing in London: 'The agenda is changing. Led by the 
ODPM [Office of the Deputy Prime Minister] and the mayor of London, the 
least damaging approach is no longer good enough. We think it [the 
requirement to incorporate renewables] is going to be the norm and are 
keen to get a technology lead, if not a market lead, before it becomes 
the norm.'

That the developer of the £335 million Caesar's casino complex at 
Wembley is also planning to build homes on deep-green principles of zero 
waste, zero carbon and sustainable transport for the mass market is 
indication of how much has changed.

John Slaughter of the Home Builders Federation said the issue is a big 
concern for his members. He said renewable technologies add to build 
cost and because mainstream consumers were not prepared to pay a premium 
to be green, profit margins are being hit. 'At this stage of the market 
it's not necessarily economic to deliver [renewables] on a mainstream 
basis for new development,' he said. 'You can't charge an extra £6,000 
or £7,000 for a home. There isn't the demand. And it's a significant 
amount of money to take out of margins.'

He said a plethora of local councils developing individual policies was 
not the best way to cut carbon emissions. 'It's potentially a nightmare 
[for developers] if you have a whole string of local authorities with 
different requirements. We think it's better to work through national 
policy measures such as building regulations. The government is also 
working on a [voluntary] code for sustainable buildings.'

Building regulations are due to be revised next April, and designed to 
increase the energy efficiency of new buildings by 25 per cent. This 
coincides with implementation of the EU energy efficiency in buildings 
directive, which will require buildings to be certified for their energy 
efficiency in much the same way that household refrigerators are rated.

But for the renewables industry the 10 per cent requirement is the one 
bright spot when the industry is on a knife-edge, facing a yawning 
funding gap between the imminent end of two DTI schemes, Clear Skies and 
the Solar PV Major Demonstration programme, and their successor, the low 
carbon buildings programme, which is not expected to begin giving grants 
until next summer at earliest.

Since 2002, the DTI has pumped £43m into grants for small users to 
install renewable technologies, but the low carbon buildings programme 
is expected to be far less generous. It is a severe disappointment for 
the industry after two energy white papers which promised long-term 
funding for photovoltaics and other renewables technologies.

'Since the white paper the one success story has come from local 
government,' said Sebastian Berry, head of micro-renewables at the 
Renewable Power Association.

Hewitt in Merton estimates that the value of the environmental 
technologies that will be installed as a result of his borough's policy 
is £3m a year: 'If 250 of the largest 400 boroughs had this rule, it 
racks up to monumental sums: £710m a year.'

Developers who have already had to dance to the 10 per cent tune seem to 
have emerged relatively unscarred. Hemel Hempstead-based developer 
Chancerygate recently finished building 4,500 sq m of industrial 
warehouse units in Merton. It installed 10 micro-wind turbines, 
photovoltaics and a raft of energy saving measures to satisfy the planners.

'The measures added about 3 per cent to our building costs and we had to 
absorb that,' said Charlie Withers, a director of Chancerygate. 'For 
both parties it was a learning curve, but we've come out the other end 
and the overall experience worked well.'

And it has not deterred Chancerygate from seeking planning permission 
for other sites in Merton. With more councils fast joining the 
bandwagon, said Withers, renewables is not an issue developers will be 
able to avoid.

Environmental extras

There is a clear link between the market value of commercial property 
and its environmental credentials, according to a study by the Royal 
Institution of Chartered Surveyors released last week.

The study, which looked at how environmental features added value to 
buildings in the UK, Canada and the US, found that green buildings can 
earn higher rents and prices, attract tenants and buyers more quickly 
and cut tenant turnover. They also cost less to operate and maintain and 
benefit occupants more than the underlying asset value as a result of 
increased productivity from staff working in a more comfortable environment.

The report stresses that green buildings could command higher rents if 
there was greater recognition of the 'hidden benefits'.

RICS chief executive Louis Armstrong points out that buildings account 
for about 40 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions: 'The property and 
construction industries have a leading role to play in tackling climate 
change. This work shows that achieving real environmental benefits can 
also be profitable.'