Good Homes Alliance update

Burdens Environmental are a proud member of the Good Homes Alliance (GHA) and would like to draw your attention to their 2009 round up and plans for 2010. GHA members consist of building professionals, house builders and developers and other industry supporters such as Burdens Environmental. The aim of the GHA is to promote best practice in achieving sustainable construction projects, helping to breach the gap between aspirations and reality.

2009 Good Homes Alliance Round Up

GHA members have built a number of leading-edge, sustainable homes projects, such as:

• BioRegional Quintain’s One Brighton; Zero C’s low carbon developments at Poundbury and Upton
• Synergy’s Threshold Co-housing Centre, North Dorset; Ecos Homes’ First Code level 5 development at Stawell
• And the Kingerlee Homes/Princes Foundation/NBT Natural House at BRE Innovation Park

The GHA itself has organised:

• 8 events with over 500 attendees, covering monitoring, health and wellbeing, site visits & low carbon policy
• Research on Code for Sustainable Homes case studies (for DCLG) and has helped to develop a GHA monitoring protocol (EST funded)
• Policy input on zero carbon, the Code for Sustainable Homes, TSB criteria for post occupancy evaluation funding and Building Regulations Part L

Further details about these are available on the Good Homes Alliance web site. 
 

Good Homes Alliance 2010 Plans

In 2010, the GHA hope to help their Developer Members build more exemplary sustainable housing projects through:

• Building support to monitor post-construction performance of their Developer Members’ home
• Organising further events to examine emerging policies and practice, including a session at Ecobuild in March
• Research on monitoring and on health and well-being for building occupants.
• Further policy input on zero carbon, the Code for Sustainable Homes, Building Regulations and incentives for Good Homes

Sustainable Construction Policy News

The GHA has been involved in extensive sustainable construction policy work during 2009.
This culminated in the GHA chairman, Neil May, recently meeting the Housing Minister, John Healey, as part of the Zero Carbon Hub delegation.

Three recent policy news stories that have caught our eyes might be of interest:

• The Government announces £9billion for smart meters. Find out more...
• John Healey announces energy efficiency standards as part of the definition of zero carbon. Find out more...
• DCLG launches their consultation on revisions to the Code for Sustainable Homes. Find out more...

Upcoming Sustainable Construction Events

• March 2nd, 10.30 – 12.00, Ecobuild 2010, Driving Performance Standards: Post Construction Testing
• April 22nd, 13.30 – 17.30, UCL Bartlett, Monitoring and feedback seminar and exhibition