News
News in brief
Bovis seals £18 million
Cash aid for SMEs
Small and medium-sized
businesses look set to benefit
affordable homes deal
from a multibillion-pound
government package to ease cash
flow and credit problems.
n
An £18m project has
been agreed between the
Secretary of State for Business
government and Bovis Homes
Lord Mandelson unveiled
to take hundreds of families off
loan guarantees and a new
housing waiting lists and stimulate
Enterprise Fund aimed at helping
the industry.
companies struggling to access
The deal was done through
finance for working capital and
the National Clearing House
investment.
programme, which enables
It includes a £10bn Working
builders to sell their stock to
Capital Scheme; an Enterprise
housing associations as affordable
Finance Guarantee Scheme,
homes.
securing up to £1.3bn of
It will provide 379 affordable
additional bank loans to small
homes across the country – the
firms with a turnover of up to
biggest deal yet achieved through
£25m; and a £75m Capital for
the programme. In total, 4,800
Enterprise Fund to invest in small
homes have now been brought
businesses that need equity.
into use at a cost of £160m.
It is hoped the move will help
Positive steer for ‘compass’
stimulate development in the
An online tool to incorporate
sector.
weather and climate change-
Meanwhile, consultations have
related information into building
started into whether councils
design has started to receive
should be given greater freedom to
positive feedback after its launch
build homes to help stimulate the
two months ago.
ailing construction sector. Councils could receive more freedom to provide social housing
The Design Compass is
Under the proposals announced
a detailed guide for building
by housing minister Margaret they build, as well as retaining accommodation.
services professionals helping
Beckett in January, councils the receipts from any homes Local authorities are invited to
them design buildings to adapt to
would be able to keep all the sold. The extra money could free discuss their ideas with the Homes
and mitigate against the changing
rental income from any homes councils to invest in building more and Communities Agency.
climate.
The Design Compass was
funded by the Technology
Strategy Board, a government
Climate change largely irreversible, says study
body, and by CIBSE and the
Engineering and Physical
Climate change is largely surface temperature, rainfall and million and then completely
Sciences Research Council.
irreversible, according to a report sea levels are largely irreversible halting the emissions after the
www.cibsedesigncompass.org.uk
which says it will take more than for more than 1,000 years after peak.
1,000 years for carbon-reduction carbon dioxide emissions are The authors found that the
Congress papers sought
projects to have an impact. completely stopped. scientific evidence is strong
Abstracts and papers for the
The claim comes in a new The study examines the enough to quantify some
international CIB World Building
scientific study led by the National consequences of allowing CO2 irreversible climate impacts,
Congress 2010 Building a Better
Oceanic and Atmospheric to build up to several different including rainfall changes in
World conference are now
Administration (NOAA). peak levels beyond present-day certain key regions, and global
being sought. CIBSE Intelligent
It shows how changes in concentrations of 385 parts per sea-level rise.
Buildings Group, in collaboration
with CIB W098: Intelligent
and Responsive Buildings,
is appealing for papers and Firms urged to turn to biomass
abstracts for the event, which
will be held from 10 to 13 May
A lack of understanding about by the Carbon Trust. businesses just aren’t aware of
2010 at the University of Salford,
the benefits of biomass heating Using wood or straw can the cost and carbon benefits of
UK. The abstract submission
is preventing business and public provide cost savings of two to turning to biomass.”
deadline is 16 March 2009, while
sector use of the technology, says four pence per kilowatt hour, Heating currently accounts for
full paper submissions are due in
advisory body the Carbon Trust. compared with the use of almost half of the UK’s carbon
on 19 October 2009. Visit www.
Organisations could benefit heating oil. emissions. Biomass can reduce
cib2010.org or contact Kaushal
by switching from oil, gas and Carbon Trust director of carbon emissions by about 90
Keraminiyage at kaushal@
electric heating to biomass, innovations Mark Williamson per cent relative to fossil fuel
cib2010.org
according to Biomass Heating, said: “We’ve become so reliant on heating systems, the Carbon
A Practical Guide, published oil, gas and electricity that many Trust argues.
8 CIBSE Journal February 2009
www.cibsejournal.com
CIBSEfeb09pp08 news•.indd 8 5/2/09 14:02:36
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