News
Tories pledge to consult
fully on building regs
n
A Conservative government would not proceed with
plans to cut back on the Building Regulations before it had conducted a ‘thorough’ consultation with industry, the Journal has learned. The Tories confirmed in their
recent Energy Green Paper that they believed the regulations were ‘prescriptive and overly complex’, and would need to be ‘simplified and reduced, with a focus on outcomes’. The regulations are not discussed
in the party’s election manifesto, but its climate change spokesman, Greg Barker, told the Journal a Tory government would seek the advice of the industry before taking action. ‘This is an issue which requires
proper and thorough consultation with the whole housing and construction industry,’ Barker said. ‘We would look to reform the
Building Regulations with the help and guidance of those who know best the implications of these
Terry Dix... regs not overly bureaucratic.
regulations.’ Industry experts welcome the consultation plan but questioned the claim that the regulations are overly bureaucratic. ‘I have not seen any hard evidence that this is the case,’ said Terry Dix, a director at consultancy Arup who was involved in the redrafting of Part L of the regulations. ‘The Building Regulations have for more than 20 years provided
Disgruntled staff eye other industries
Almost three-quarters of professionals in key parts of the construction industry have received no salary increase in the past year, according to the annual CIBSE Journal/Hays jobs survey. The survey of consulting engineers, M&E managers and estimators found that 72 per cent did not receive any salary rise and 69 per cent feel that salaries are too low.
Possibly as a result of the
depressed pay levels, many professionals said they were looking to move out of the building services engineering sector – 35 per cent said they planned to move to another, related sector such as the energy industry. Mike McNally of recruitment
consultancy Hays said the static nature of the BSE profession meant there
www.cibsejournal.com
would probably be more staff movement in the coming year.
See the survey analysis on page 46. For the full data, visit www.jobs.cibsejournal.com
re-enforcement to government standards and have helped to reduce the UK carbon footprint over that period.’ Hywel Davies, technical director
of CIBSE, said: ‘It’s good to see that the Conservatives foresee a role for the Building Regulations in greening our housing stock. ‘If they form the next
government, CIBSE would want to encourage them to focus on how to improve levels of compliance with the regulations to achieve that in practice, and would look forward to contributing to such a consultation.’ Barker also told the Journal that,
under its proposed Green Deal, it would seek to involve ‘major high street names in retail and DIY’ to help provide efficiency improvements to homes.
See our analysis of the main party manifestos, page 18. Plus: CIBSE launches a campaign to enforce compliance with air conditioning and F-gas inspections, page 20.
Industry backs Part L changes,
says CLG
Many industry professionals responding to the UK government’s consultation on Parts L and F of the Building Regulations 2010 agreed with the proposals. The Department for
Communities and Local Government (CLG) published the results on its website after receiving more than 400 responses. Key findings include: 58 per
cent of respondents preferred the flat-rate approach for the target emission rate (TER) for dwellings; 63 per cent preferred the aggregate approach for non- domestic buildings; and 81 per cent supported the CLG’s proposal to introduce a 25 per cent reduction target. To find out more on the industry’s response, visit
www.communities.gov.uk
The technical guidance (Approved Documents and Compliance Guides) were expected be to published before the general election on May 6. They should be available to view at www.
planningportal.gov.uk
The regulations are expected to come into force in October.
Tower block power is a breeze
The wind turbines at Strata SE1, London’s tallest residential tower, have now been installed. The three five-bladed nine-metre diameter wind turbines are a world first, being integrated into the fabric of the building. It is anticipated that they will produce 50MWh of electricity per year for the landlord’s supply, around eight per cent of Strata SE1’s estimated total energy consumption. The project has been designed by BFLS architects, and Brookfield Europe is the developer and contractor.
www.stratalondon.com
May 2010 CIBSE Journal
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Shutterstock
www.stratalondon.com
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