The requirements
The new zero carbon requirements of the London plan will be a key consideration for housing schemes in the capital. As of October 2016, it cost housing developers around £60 per tonne of carbon produced by each new home – payable to the local authority for 30 years. Building new homes in London, therefore, needs to get smarter. If you’re not hot on thinking in tonnes of carbon, 300 homes built to current standards would cost nearly £500,000 over a period of 30 years to meet the new regulations.
Building smarter
At Architecture for London we think building smarter has many advantages for homeowners, developers, and the environment – but avoiding a £500,000 bill is a particularly convincing reason. The London Plan Policy 5.2 (Minimising carbon dioxide emissions) will affect all major residential developments (typically 9+ homes) pushing past the existing 35 percent reduction to zero carbon. This can be done on site by including building fabric improvements and renewable energy sources with any remaining emissions being paid off to the local authority as carbon offsets.
Existing housing stock
Every year new housing is only about 1% of the UK total, so changes need to come from other directions too. Through our AFL Healthy Homes initiative, we offer technical advice and design services to our clients for their existing properties, reducing carbon beyond regulated minimums for refurbishments and extensions.
Visit the Architecture for London housing page to view our housing projects.