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ID sylw: 108174

Derbyniwyd: 05/03/2025

Ymatebydd: Bellway Homes (West Midlands)

Asiant : Cerda Planning

Bellway recognises the implications of climate change and has a proactive approach to design to ensure development mitigates and adapts to climate change. We support measures to reduce carbon emissions through both construction and operation and recognise the Council’s ambition in setting policies which go beyond national requirements.
However, any specific requirements which go beyond the current Local Plan and national guidance need to be supported by an appropriate evidence base, including a viability assessment.
It is considered that any feasible and viable policy should be restricted to regulated energy only. As a housebuilder Bellway only has the ability to influence the regulated energy demand of homes through design and specification of materials and systems, and renewable energy technologies. The unregulated energy consumption, (often referred to as ‘plug in load’) of homes is ultimately the function of the residents’ use of the building, which cannot be influenced by the developer and therefore the requirement on the developer to reduce or offset emissions from residents’ unregulated energy use is not appropriate.
Post 2025 one of the greatest demands for unregulated energy in new homes will be to charge an electric vehicle. We consider it unreasonable to assume that a housebuilder could influence such demand or should effectively meet the cost of mitigating carbon from a resident charging their electric vehicle.
The FHS and FBS consultation states, ‘We consider that metrics which include unregulated loads are not a suitable because designers and housebuilders have little or no control over these end uses of energy’.