COMMENT
Sunshine and showers
I
t is a truth, albeit, alas, not one that is universally acknowledged, that climate change is real, is happening, and must be acted upon. A further truth is that one of the best ways we can do something to mitigate climate change and homo sapiens’ disastrous effect on the planet, is by reducing the amount of fossil fuels we use to power our homes and lifestyles.
We’ve had many, many attempts by governments of varying hues to force this through, most of them with little, if any, success. Now we have another. The Future Homes Standard has been bubbling under for some years, since it was first mooted in 2019 by the Conservatives government under Boris Johnson, with the aim of reducing carbon emissions in new homes by 75-80%. The target date for this is be implemented was set as 2025. That, just to hammer the point home, is this year. Three Prime Ministers later, and the Labour Government is pushing ahead with it with gusto. Not only will heat pumps, or other low-carbon heating technology be required in new homes in place of gas boilers, but builders will be required to fit solar panels to the “vast majority” of new build homes in England. Only homes where it is not reasonably practicable to fit solar panels – those completely in the shade, for example, will be exempt.
Energy secretary, Ed Miliband has said that these measures make ‘common sense’, and that solar panels would save the typical household £500 a year on their energy bills.
All well and good, but, as we have seen with government schemes over the years, the devil is
CONTACTS Builders Merchants Journal
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EDITORIAL
Group Managing Editor: Fiona Russell Horne 01622 699101 07721 841382
frussell-horne@datateam.co.uk
Assistant editor Oliver Stanley 01622 699186
ostanley@datateam.co.uk
Production Controller: Nic Mandeville
in the details, or, rather, in the way programmes and mandates are implemented. One of the reasons why schemes like the Green Deal, and the Great British Insulation Deal fell short of their aims was the huge burden of paperwork and adminstation that the trades due to deliver the work were burdened with.
Additionally, installing new low carbon technology into new homes is a different animal to a more simple idea of improving the building fabric via insulation to reduce energy use that way. In theory, installing a loft-full of insulation is a case of fit in and then sit back and luxuriate in your new toasty-but-cheaper-to-run home. Heat pumps and solar panels are not, yet, fit-and- forget items. They require training and expertise, a level of knowledge across the sector that it no-where near where it needs to be. That is why merchants and suppliers have been investing heavily in renewables offers and training centres, but importantly the right levels of knowledge and skill takes, not just money, but also time. And this is in a sector that is already struggling to recruit the numbers it needs.
The National Grid also has to be able to cope with the increased demand for electricity, and planning rules need to be eased so that solar panels can’t be binned from a development purely on the grounds of aesthetics. It’s all moving in the right direction, but the pace is going to be dictated by a range of factors, not all of them are going to be easy to overcome, government edict or not. BMJ
Fiona Russell-Horne Group Managing Editor - BMJ
“
He that will enjoy the brightness of sunshine, must quit the coolness of the shade.
Samuel Johnson ”
CONTENTS 4 Newsround
What’s happening in the sector 8 News Extra
New rules on employment come into effect
10 People Who’ve moving where
12 Business helpdesk What’s concerning BMF Members?
14 BMF Industry Awards 2025
The nominations are in. It’s time to vote 16 Viewpoint
Our guest columnists talk building standards and recruitment.
19 Kitchens What’s hot in the house?
20 Merchant Focus Expansion north of the border
25 Timber
What’s what with wood 29 IT
Looking at IT issues and ways of using technology to improve payments
ADVERTISING
Group Sales Manager: Dawn Tucker 01622 699148 07934 731232
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Media Account Executive Morgan Borthwick-Hunter mborthwick-hunter@datateam.
co.uk
01622 699126
Publisher: Paul Ryder
pryder@datateam.co.uk © Datateam Business Media Ltd 2025
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means, electronic or mechanical including photo-copying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without the prior written consent of the publisher. The title Builders Merchants Journal is registered at Stationers’ Hall. Suppliers have contributed towards production costs of some photographs in this issue.
CIRCULATION
ABC audited average circulation
July 2018-June 2019: 7,801 SUBSCRIPTIONS
UK 1 year: £97 UK, 2 years: £164 Outside UK: one year £113/$204; two years: £196/$353
32 Plumbing, Drainage & Heating
From flood protection to heat pumps, we look at the top issues in the pipelines
38 BMF Industry Voice The latest from the Builders Merchants Federation
40 Product News What’s new from suppliers
42 And Finally News and the Prize Crossword
June 2025
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net 3
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