GGF Pleased with Consequential Improvements U-Turn

GGF Pleased with Consequential Improvements U-Turn

The Glass and Glazing Federation (GGF) was pleased to hear the recent Government announcement that Consequential Improvements (CI) will not be implemented in Building Regulations 2013 for England.

The England part L consultation included a section on CI, meaning if a property owner extended a building or more controversially installed replacement windows, additional energy saving measures would need to be installed into the building. The GGF has held many meetings with the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) to explain why this would not work in practice and in fact would discourage homeowners from undertaking home improvements.

Following the announcement, Nigel Rees, GGF Group Chief Executive commented, “This is a great result and I am pleased the Government listened to our concerns and reversed this proposal for England. Our objection to the proposal of Consequential Improvements was that property owners planning to make energy saving measures were going to be forced to do more work when they were already set to reduce their building’s carbon foot print. We felt this proposed enforcement would deter homeowners from installing replacement windows in the first place because they would be forced to carry out more building work at more expense and inconvenience.”

Giles Willson, GGF Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Technical Affairs added, “The GGF in conjunction with the Heating & Hotwater Industry Council (HHIC) continuously lobbied Government on this controversial proposal and it has paid off. We highlighted the commercial risks to businesses that the introduction of Consequential Improvements would have incurred and in the end, the Government has made a sensible decision for the Home Improvement companies in England.”

To read the full Written Ministerial Statement by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles on changes to the Building Regulations (Minor Consequential Improvements) on energy efficiency please visit the Government website:  https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/minor-consequential-improvements