Ministers are to reject moves that require homeowners to make their properties energy efficient before building extensions.
All the mandatory elements of the government's green deal for homes are to be scrapped following an intervention by Prime Minister David Cameron.
This means that the government will reject proposals currently out for consultation by the Department for Communities and Local Government that would have required homeowners to make their homes more energy efficient if they were undertaking home improvements, such as a loft conversion.
Local government minister Andrew Stunell had proposed that any homeowner intending to make a property more energy-hungry by building an extension, should redress the balance by improving insulation, upgrading a boiler or adding better heating controls.
The homeowner would be required to spend 10% in addition to the cost of the main works; so if spending £20,000 on a loft conversion an additional £2000-worth of energy efficiency measures, such as loft or cavity insulation would have to be installed.
The money would go to local contractors, paid for through cheap finance provided by the green deal and repaid through subsequent lower energy bills.
A government source said: "The idea that people are going to be forced to improve their energy efficiency or install a new boiler because they want to extend their garage or make their house better is not going to happen. It is not policy now. It is out for consultation, but the prime minister is opposed to it, and it will not become policy. It is not fair to ordinary people trying to improve their homes."
The source stressed that No 10 was not opposed to the green deal itself so long as it remained voluntary.
Consequential improvements are already required for buildings over 1000m² which have an extension added, but this excludes most homes. About 200,000 domestic extensions, loft conversions and integral garage conversions are carried out per year.
All the mandatory elements of the government's green deal for homes are to be scrapped following an intervention by Prime Minister David Cameron.
This means that the government will reject proposals currently out for consultation by the Department for Communities and Local Government that would have required homeowners to make their homes more energy efficient if they were undertaking home improvements, such as a loft conversion.
Local government minister Andrew Stunell had proposed that any homeowner intending to make a property more energy-hungry by building an extension, should redress the balance by improving insulation, upgrading a boiler or adding better heating controls.
The homeowner would be required to spend 10% in addition to the cost of the main works; so if spending £20,000 on a loft conversion an additional £2000-worth of energy efficiency measures, such as loft or cavity insulation would have to be installed.
The money would go to local contractors, paid for through cheap finance provided by the green deal and repaid through subsequent lower energy bills.
A government source said: "The idea that people are going to be forced to improve their energy efficiency or install a new boiler because they want to extend their garage or make their house better is not going to happen. It is not policy now. It is out for consultation, but the prime minister is opposed to it, and it will not become policy. It is not fair to ordinary people trying to improve their homes."
The source stressed that No 10 was not opposed to the green deal itself so long as it remained voluntary.
Consequential improvements are already required for buildings over 1000m² which have an extension added, but this excludes most homes. About 200,000 domestic extensions, loft conversions and integral garage conversions are carried out per year.
No comments:
Post a Comment