17-12-2009
Water efficiency - revised rules delayed
The revised rules covering water efficiency in new homes which were due to come into force on 1st October 2009 have been postponed until 6th April 2010.
The new rules fall under Part G Building Regulations for Sanitation, Hot Water Safety and Water Efficiency. The regulation changes will restrict the use of water in order to preserve a valuable natural resource which means that all new homes will have to have water fittings that limit the usage of water per person per day to125 litres (compared to the current average consumption of 150 litres per person per day). This will be mandatory regardless of whether a particular level under the Code for Sustainable Homes is to be achieved or not.
The changes will affect all new build homes and those formed through a material change to the use of a building. Under the new rules, the person carrying out the work will have to give the local authority a notice which specifies the potential consumption of wholesome water per person per day, calculated in accordance with the methodology referred to in that regulation, in relation to the completed dwelling.
Planning for sustainable buildings
On 1st September 2009, the minimum sustainability standards for most new buildings in Wales came in. In short this meant:
Sarah Edwards, Energist UK
The new rules fall under Part G Building Regulations for Sanitation, Hot Water Safety and Water Efficiency. The regulation changes will restrict the use of water in order to preserve a valuable natural resource which means that all new homes will have to have water fittings that limit the usage of water per person per day to125 litres (compared to the current average consumption of 150 litres per person per day). This will be mandatory regardless of whether a particular level under the Code for Sustainable Homes is to be achieved or not.
The changes will affect all new build homes and those formed through a material change to the use of a building. Under the new rules, the person carrying out the work will have to give the local authority a notice which specifies the potential consumption of wholesome water per person per day, calculated in accordance with the methodology referred to in that regulation, in relation to the completed dwelling.
Planning for sustainable buildings
On 1st September 2009, the minimum sustainability standards for most new buildings in Wales came in. In short this meant:
- Housing developments of five or more dwellings submitted for planning permission after 1st September 2009 were subject to the policy with all new housing developments being included from September 2010.
- Applications for five or more dwellings received on or after 1st September 2009 were required to meet the Code for Sustainable Homes Level 3 and obtain six credits under issue Ene1 - Dwelling Emission Rate.
- Applications for one or more dwellings received on or after 1st September 2010 were required to meet the Code for Sustainable Homes Level 3 and obtain six credits under issue Ene1 - Dwelling Emission Rate.
- For non-residential buildings, applications received on or after 1st September 2009 for non-residential developments either with a floorspace of 1,000 m2, or which will be carried out on a site having an area of one hectare or more, were expected to meet the BREEAM ‘Very Good’ standard as a minimum and achieve ‘Excellent’ for carbon reduction.
Sarah Edwards, Energist UK
