Future proofing our homes and planet

The governments new Environmental Improvement Plan sets out to improve the quality of the water, air and land across the UK.

Working alongside Planning authorities and Housebuilders up and down the country to change the way homes are being built and implement biodiversity net gain by November 2023.

The nutrient neutrality issues have already caused the delivery of thousands of homes to be stalled and the government announced a mitigation scheme last July to help combat the problem and reach the housing target of 300,000. In affected areas water and sewage companies were advised to upgrade water waste treatments works before new developments can go ahead.

Creating a water efficiency roadmap will provide developers with clear guidance on water efficiency in new schemes and include the use of sustainable drainage systems in line with the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.

DEFRA said this instruction would be “subject to final decisions on scope, threshold and process, while also being mindful of the cumulative impact of new regulatory burdens on the development sector”.

PassivHaus and net zero carbon homes are the next step in reducing the carbon footprint created by developers whilst using these biodiversity’s to create more sustainable homes.

Redrow is just one example future proofing homes by moving away from the traditional gas and oil boilers and introducing air source heat pumps to make all new build properties gas free from 2025, having a massive impact on the efficiency of their homes moving in line with their commitment to achieve net zero carbon by 2050.

Not only does this reduce the risk of gas’ and oils being released into the environment and increasing air and water pollution, but the heat pumps also use the thermal energy from water, air and the ground to fuel homes at a lower cost to the families and planet.

Matthew Pratt, Redrow’s CEO, said: “We are committed to further improving the energy efficiency of our homes while maintaining our reputation for best in class build quality and design. We will shortly go above and beyond regulatory requirements, future proofing our homes and helping our customers lower their energy use. We know how important energy efficiency is to our customers and we’re proud to be investing in newer, greener technology and leading the way by offering these energy efficient features. This will provide the opportunity for our customers to reduce their costs and carbon footprint simultaneously.”