1.5 million homes – why we must deliver quality, sustainability and safety
Government has put housing at the heart of unlocking growth in the UK, committing to deliver the biggest housebuilding programme in two generations with significant, controversial planning reforms announced to enable progress.
The deliverability of its pledge to build 1.5m homes in this parliament and overhaul the UK’s planning system have so far dominated the debate. Quality has received less airtime, but we should consider how we can create a new generation of homes that people want, and which embed sustainability, resilience and safety.
With a changing climate, new homes must be resilient to increased rainfall and the threat of overheating. In the transition to net-zero, properties must take advantage of new lower carbon materials, and be energy-efficient to reduce operational carbon and ensure lower bills for homeowners and renters. After the tragedy of Grenfell Tower, above all a new generation of homes must be safe and fire-resistant.
Embedding quality, sustainability and safety into the fabric of our new housing stock must be central for housebuilders, registered providers and local authority planning departments reviewing planning applications. While the introduction of the Future Homes Standard in 2025 will help to address some of these issues, a greater focus on the building materials specified will also be key.
Brick and block
Concrete masonry construction has been central to how we build homes in the UK for generations. Known as ‘brick and block’, it is a tried and tested building technique representing 73 per cent of the new build housing market, which helps to create warm, quality housing that is sustainable, long-lasting, and resilient. In a changing climate, it protects occupants’ homes from flood and water damage. Most importantly, because it is non-combustible, it provides excellent fire protection to the building and its occupants.
These materials have a proven safety record and do not burn, compared to combustible building materials, such as timber, which add additional risk to our built environment. Concrete does not require any additional fire protection because of its own built-in resistance to fire.
While this is a traditional type of construction, the industry is continuing to evolve and innovate and as part of the UK concrete and cement industry, which has a clear roadmap to net-zero. The updated standard for concrete, BS8500, means that lower carbon concretes can be much more widely used, including in housing.
Robust local supply chains
Masonry concrete is UK-made with local and responsibly sourced supply chains. Over 95 per cent of concrete used in the UK is produced by an essential and foundational manufacturing industry. The masonry industry is part a wider mineral products sector which contributes approximately £22bn to the UK’s GDP. It employs 80,000 people - from quarry workers, geologists and plant managers through to delivery drivers.
Materials are critical to delivering the Government’s ambitions for new homes at significantly increased volume, but are often overlooked. Yet they are integral to meeting the quality, deliverability, safety and sustainability challenges. Relying on imported, combustible materials adds risk to our built environment and does nothing for UK manufacturing jobs. It also vulnerability to disruption and delays from lengthy global supply chains.
Now is the time to focus on tried and tested, long-lasting building methods with domestically produced, locally sourced materials to deliver future-proof UK homes.
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