Flagship Carbon Zero Projects Are Counter Productive
We have a housing crisis in the UK and we're trying to resolve it with building 1.5 million homes and flagship net zero projects. This is a mistake.
It's ploughing money into large developers share holder pockets. It removes innovative decision making from local level. It's going to blow our carbon budget. For every penny in the pound spent on a flagship project you can take two away from local residents because local investment and jobs will fail to materialise.
FMB
The FMB says only 12% of local SMEs Build Homes Now - Down From 40%
This in turn will stifle development of local retrofit skills in SME's and small builders, the ones who we need to build workforces to retrofit the millions of homes and businesses in buildings we already have.
And in an era when local people, with local knowledge could be doing better. It's denying the opportunity to deliver the reuse and refurbishment of properties from Devolved Authorities.
Devolved Decision Making For National Impact
The report from the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations (CAST), issued this month outlines concerns that decisions about how flagship net zero initiatives are influencing poor planning and development choices.
Harder and less popular decisions regarding carbon intensive projects like roadbuilding are still railroaded through for fear of local opposition and the public perception of meddling in peoples existing lifestyle choices.
This is not only politically expedient, it misses a point that charities like Crisis and the Empty Homes network have been making for years. We have over 1% of UK housing stock lying vacant. That represents a million homes between the Devolved nations.
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In addition. We have existing commercial and businesses premises that are sitting vacant possibly releasing up to another 30,000 residential units.
Giving power to Devolved Authorities who know where their workforce is, where existing buildings are and what local needs are, in addition to statutory rights to enforce vacant buildings into use would unlock growth on a epic scale.
Creating Development Timelines That Match Capabilities
If we refer again to the CAST report.
"Many Authorities focus their net zero attention on specific low-carbon projects. These projects are often related to public transport, (e.g. the provision of electric buses or trams), but also include specific building development, renewable energy, green space and ‘natural capital’ projects."
All of these projects add value to local life and help in the transition to Net Zero. But as the experience of any authorities dealing with the retrofit of their own housing stock will validate.
LivGreen
The SHDF Programme Was Too Fast For Supply Chains
Unrealistic timelines for decision making, tendering, engagement and execution have hampered the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) waves. And highlighted that ambitious is great, but achievable is better. The SHDF scheme has achieved notable results but cases of forced evictions and poor quality installs have magnified the sense that retrofit is being done to the UK population not with them.
Again to the CAST report;
Officials spoke of their dependency on central government funding, which often came with binding conditions and tight deadlines. Officials felt pressured to prove their capacity to deliver on central government priorities, which could stifle innovation.
The actual lived experience of fraught planning departments in authorities who have multiple directions they are being pulled. Means targeting flagship, carbon zero hitting targets will work for now but is kicking future problems in to the long grass.
Devolved Administration Will Increase Participation
This little known hit penned by a hardy band of Local Government Association musicians was doing the rounds of the UKREiiF conference in May 2024.
OK, not strictly true, but what was hot property was the community led Council supported neighbourhood retrofit that took place in Birmingham, assisted by Acivico Group.
Hazel Sheffield
The community led retrofit programme was a national hit and stayed in the top 10 of the retrofit charts ever since. A sticking point for all involved was a problem with where pots of cash had to be located for the various parts of the project.
And that's yet another key point raised by the CAST report;
“You are very much orientated around deliverable projects. So you can demonstrate you're getting spend and money out the door… that doesn't always lead to transformational investment.” (Policy manager, 2024)
Local Participation And The 'Greenlash'
The idea of net zero projects being forced upon people is much easier to avoid if the decisions about projects come from known local representatives. Advocates for schemes with slower time lines, achievable but challenging objectives and community support funded by a single administration - do two things.
They allow Devolved Authorities the opportunity to build a supply chain and workforce which is sustainable.
SME's will take on new staff with longer term prospects rather than gig hires, as they can forecast growth for 5 years or more.
Removing the administration load (of funding pots and scheme management) from central government from multiple departments - to a single local entity enables the development of knowledge of key net zero and sustainable building best practice. Growing this expertise in house removes the need for outsourcing and consultancy. At the moment as the CAST report says;
"Officials identified a lack of internal capacity, including technical climate/decarbonisation skills and knowledge. Some sectors and Authorities highlighted uncertainty around what constitutes an acceptable net zero compatible standard."
It's much harder for opposition to take hold against net zero projects when you know people in your circle of family and friends who are invested in, employed on and benefitting from a development project.
Reluctance to devolve power from central government might come from the wave of poor investment choices and the string of S114 bankruptcy notices in local government. This is as much a legislative issue as a financial one. Statutory roles are enforceable, so make vacant buildings, land plots and sites a statutory role for authorities, not a choice.
Raising Standards Is About Equality AND Opportunity
The CAST report was focused on lifting the base level of standards in net zero projects in the UK, enabling informed officials to effectively plan and be able to finance projects which remove carbon heavy infrastructure and projects off the balance books.
This is achievable if the 'scoring system' set by central government is reflected in the level of responsibility given to local organisations.
Expand devolution. This could include awarding more single settlements (where Authorities get a multi-year general funding deal, rather than having to apply for lots of specific ‘pots’); and extending spending deadlines on low-carbon and climate schemes to give Devolved Authorities the ability to deliver more transformative local climate action. Longer spending deadlines of up to ten years were suggested by participants. Explicit permission, or even encouragement, from central government for Devolved Authorities to ‘raise the floor’ above national standards would also be helpful.
Each and every authority will have a list of sub standard buildings and infrastructure. We know this from detailed reports from councils dealing with Grenfell cladding removal and other improvement schemes demanded from central government.
Allow an authority to take control. Trust them, guide them.
Removing scoring which attributes net zero goals with high value projects leaving poor quality decision making locking us in to carbon heavy lode stones.
Cut local government free. That will encourage growth the right kind of growth.