The standards have been in place for new homes built on sites of five or more residential units for the last year and now will apply to all homes.
 
Building regulations in Wales are also soon to be devolved to make it easier for the Assembly Government to change them to help meet its target to reduce emissions by 3% from 2011.
 
The new standard will mean:

  • a carbon footprint 31% lower than current building regulations through energy efficiency and renewable energy
  • less water consumed
  • building with more sustainable materials.

“We know that the built environment is the largest contributor to greenhouse gases in Wales and that the way we construct our homes and buildings accounts for 40% of our total carbon emissions," said Davidson. "That is why I am determined to use the planning system to help move us towards zero carbon buildings."
 
Peter Davies, Commissioner for Wales of the Sustainable Development Commission said: “This change is likely to mean lower energy bills in the short term and protection from future price rises.
 
“In meeting the new standards, priority should be given to improving the fabric of buildings. We also want to see continued collaboration between the government and the construction sector, including through the ‘Low/Zero Carbon Hub’.”

The Assembly is determined to use the planning system to reduce emissions. In July, its Planning Policy was updated to give greater emphasis to tackling climate change through the planning system. And 'Technical Advice Note 22 - Planning for Sustainable Buildings' - which provides advice for local planning authorities and developers on this policy - was published in June 2010.
 
The Welsh Assembly Government issued a “Ministerial Interim Planning Policy Statement on ‘Planning for Sustainable Buildings” in May 2009. This has since been consolidated into Section 4.11 of Planning Policy Wales (2010) (Edition 3) which sets out the overall framework for land planning in Wales. This can be found on
http://wales.gov.uk/topics/planning/policy/ppw2010/
 
The new policy uses two methods for assessing the sustainability of new homes and other non-domestic building such as offices and shops. These are the Code for Sustainable Homes and, for non-domestic buildings, the Building Research Establishment’s Environment Assessment Method (BREEAM).
 
New homes must achieve 3 stars (Level 3) of the Code for Sustainable Homes (six stars being the highest). For non-domestic buildings the standard is ‘Very Good’ under BREEAM.
 
Technical Advice Note 22 Planning for Sustainable Buildings can be found on http://wales.gov.uk/topics/planning/policy/tans/tan22