News
Off-site solutions ‘need to be trialled sooner’
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The government should move quickly with plans to trial
off-site low-energy solutions in the public sector, if it hopes to hit its own zero carbon target in 2018. CIBSE’s technical director Hywel
Davies said the government needs to be trialling such ‘allowable’ solutions far sooner than 2015 to evaluate and monitor their success in time for its own 2016 deadline, when public buildings should be zero carbon. His comments came as the
government released its summary of responses to its zero carbon consultation, Zero Carbon for New Non-domestic Buildings: Consultation on Policy Options. The feedback showed that 82% of respondents agreed that the public sector should start trialling allowable solutions from 2015. Several respondents reiterated
the need for good monitoring, reporting and publication of data for
lessons learnt in the public sector to be used in the private sector. Davies said: ‘It’s all very well
stating a target for zero carbon, but we’ve actually got to hit it, and I don’t mean hitting it on the drawing board, I mean hit it on the ground. ‘When we design a building to be zero carbon, we’ve got to go
out and build it to be zero carbon. That’s going to require monitoring and quality control and, dare I say it, good old enforcement. ‘I think the key thing we have got
to bear in mind in doing all of this is delivering buildings that meet the standards.’
www.communities.gov.uk
School building cuts challenged in court
Legal action by six local authorities against the government’s decision to scrap the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme started as the Journal went to press. Sandwell Council went to the
High Court seeking a judicial review of the legality of the BSF abolition, after the coalition cancelled more than 700 projects worth £55bn in the summer. In Sandwell, nine projects worth
£138m were cancelled. Legal action by five other local authorities was expected to be considered at the same hearing. Council leader Councillor Darren
Cooper said: ‘We decided last year – along with a handful of other councils from around the country – to go to the courts to challenge Education Minister Michael Gove’s decision to scrap Building Schools for the Future projects.
‘As far as I’m concerned, few
things are more fundamental than this. Giving young people the best possible environment in which to learn and develop their skills and talents has to be a top priority.’ Two BSF projects in Sandwell are
due to be completed this year. The first phase of Smethwick Learning Campus has already opened, while the first phase of Rowley Learning Campus is nearing completion.
Industry leaders recognised in
New Year Honours Four leading representatives of the building services industry have been been included in the New Year’s Honours list for 2011. Keith Clarke, chief executive of engineering consultancy Atkins, has been awarded a CBE for services to engineering and the construction industry. He has 30 years’ experience in urban regeneration, policy development and the implementation of large-scale projects. He also has extensive international experience, having worked in the USA, Asia, India and Europe. Clarke said: ‘It is a privilege to
be in the engineering sector and to be honoured in this way. I believe it is engineering’s decade, as deep technical expertise will help this country take a leadership position in finding engineering solutions to help deliver low carbon economies. I am proud to be part of it.’ Arup chief Peter Head was also
awarded the CBE, for services to civil engineering and the environment. This represents his second royal honour – in 1998 he was awarded an OBE for services to bridge engineering after delivering the Second Severn Crossing as Government Agent. Lynne Sullivan, founder of SustainableBYdesign and a leading light in the zero-carbon and Passivhaus movements, has been awarded an OBE for services to architecture, while Trevor Hursthouse, chairman of the Specialist Engineering Contractors’ Group, received an OBE for services to construction.
www.cibsejournal.com
February 2011 CIBSE Journal
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