SCI calls for clearer sustainable housing timetable

Dr Bassam Burgan, Deputy Director of SCI and Chair of the Steel Homes Group, has called on the Government to provide a clearer timescale for the introduction of rules on the sustainability of new housing developments.

The industry needs clarity on how to address the issue of sustainability, said Dr Burgan, in order to address the avoidable impact on the environment by the construction industry.

The Government launched the Code for Sustainable Homes in December 2006, with a sliding scale aimed at encouraging developers to aspire to more environmentally friendly construction. But with no timescale set down for mandatory regulations, there has been limited practical response within the industry.

Dr Burgan said: “I certainly welcomed the Code but more than a year after it was announced I don’t feel the industry knows exactly what do to with it. The public sector has had a clear timetable laid down for it, but without a similar plan for the private sector, many people are confused.

“The construction industry is responsible for a substantial amount of environmental pollution, but this doesn’t have to be the case. If it made better use of off-site construction techniques, using steel framed homes, then the UK would be getting an improved and sustainable end product.”