select committee inquiry:

existing housing stock and climate change

 

Memorandum by J K Preston MA DipTP MRTPI IHBC FRSA.

 

The following reflects my 33 years' professional experience of dealing with historic and traditional buildings, currently as Historic Environment Manager for Cambridge City Council, and also as Education Secretary for the Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC). My experience ranges from East Anglian timber-framed historic buildings, to the conservation of listed 1930s and 1960s buildings. I have also represented IHBC on the steering group for the English Heritage Interim Guidance on Part L of the Building Regulations, and on the Sounding Board for the Unification of Consents study by Halcrows. It also reflects my recent personal experience as a home buyer.

 

In the following, I respond to the issues as raised by the Committee, but in turn I pose 4 key questions for the Committee members to consider:

How to translate good intentions into effective appropriate action?

 

How, in doing so, to avoid unnecessary harm to this country's special historic environment?

 

How to make best practice widespread?

 

How to monitor and measure improvements to performance in the existing building stock?

 

1. The significance of existing housing compared to new build and the different levels of performance each display

 

1.1 Government initiatives in, and training for, the construction industry have for too long been disproportionately focused on new construction, when 50% of construction activity relates to repairs, refurbishment and maintenance of existing buildings. I therefore welcome the Government's new focus on tackling climate change impacts in existing buildings (the great majority) as well as the new. However the efforts that have been made so far to improve the performance of existing buildings, through Part L of the Building Regulations, have not been as well directed as they could have been because:

a) Part L does not take a "whole life cycle" approach, instead focusing only on energy performance in use while overlooking energy / resource costs of the works involved, and disposal costs / impacts (e.g. of upvc) afterwards;

b) Part L is based on modern construction methods, and overlooks the different (and often more sustainable) performance characteristics of traditional buildings (pre-1919), which make up approximately 25% of the total stock.

c) Part L does not take account of the embodied energy aspects of existing construction, in terms of both whole buildings and re-usable fired or quarried materials, or the fact that traditional construction in lime mortar allows such materials to be re-used in a way which would be impossible with modern cement mortar.

 

1.2 A more holistic approach, based on whole life cycles and taking account of the different characteristics of traditional construction, could avoid inappropriate and wasteful works.

 

2. The respective roles of residents, homeowners, landlords, local government, central government and the energy industry in promoting and delivering greater energy efficiency

 

2.1 Behaviours - everyone

 

2.1.1 Changing the behaviours of building occupants has the potential to be the greatest single factor for change; this is a task primarily for government education initiatives (formal and informal), building on the existing groundswell of public opinion.

 

a) Some progress is being made in relation to lighting etc, but there is potential for much more in terms of reducing energy demand through optimizing the use of heating systems etc (home information packs / building log books, if sufficiently detailed to include all relevant instructions could be extremely helpful in this context [I have direct experience of this problem in my present house, bought 5 years ago; we have had major difficulties because the previous owners passed on inadequate information about the heating and electrical systems].

 

b) To be sustainable, buildings need to be maintained. People expect to service their cars and boilers regularly; they need to be encouraged to maintain their homes on the same regular basis.

2.1.2 Government has not as yet adequately addressed the issues and opportunities associated with behaviours of building occupants (in all types of premises).

 

2.2 Works to buildings - residents, homeowners, landlords, local government, central government and the energy and construction industries

 

2.2.1 Appropriateness / effectiveness

 

Building "improvements" are all too often been carried out in response to sales pitches by promoters of individual products, rather than with an understanding of what would be the most cost-effective and appropriate solution for either the building or its owner.

To highlight 4 issues:

 

2.2.1.a) Embodied energy - "maintain and repair, rather than replace"

Traditional buildings, well-maintained, have extremely long lives. However we live in a culture of replacement rather than repair. Repairs and re-use, rather than replacement, would avoid wasting embodied energy. At the most basic level, promoting the use of lime mortar would allow the re-use of bricks (energy-intensive fired materials). With 3.5 billion bricks being made each year in the UK, and 2.5 billion destroyed, changing building practices to enable re-use (impossible with OPC cement mortar, possible with lime) could make a great difference to the national carbon footprint.

Locally, I was involved in the Ely Preservation Trust's successful initiative to re-manufacture traditional gault clay peg tiles. This followed the Dean of Ely's 1987 proposed re-roofing, in new tiles, of the ancillary cathedral buildings - which would have involved discarding thousands of sound tiles (all at least 150 years old) simply because they had no guarantee. New handmade tiles on the traditional pattern are now in production, so enabling traditional "salvage and making up" and avoiding wastage of the embodied energy in fired materials.

2.2.1.b) Replacement of timber windows

In spite of longstanding evidence of the relative benefits (in terms of effectiveness and financial payback) of a hierarchy of measures starting with improved insulation, use of heavy curtains, secondary glazing, draught exclusion, and double glazing well down the list, owners have often been persuaded to replace windows first of all. This has had serious implications, in terms of both sustainability and visual impacts:

 

i) timber windows (environmentally friendly, and often repairable without needing complete replacement) have been replaced with uPVC (not environmentally friendly, irreparable, involving major pollution issues when discarded). The adverse environmental impacts of uPVC have not as yet been adequately addressed by Government at national and local levels.

It is only very recently that my employers, a very environmentally-conscious Council, discontinued their uPVC window manufacturing facility.

 

ii) owners have been unaware that pre-1919 windows (hardwood) are intrinsically far more durable (provided that they are regularly maintained) than modern fast-grown, pressure-impregnated softwood;

 

iii) owners have been swayed by false claims that uPVC is "maintenance-free" [if that is the case, why have B&Q been selling a product called "uPVC window restorer"?].

The impacts of the "maintenance-free" myth were highlighted for me by houses in Milton Keynes, whose residents had been persuaded by a double glazing salesman to take out the original highly-efficient and durable windows (hardwood double glazed with argon), and replace them with uPVC. That was 15 years ago, the same myths continue to be peddled now.

 

2.2.1.c) External insulation

Insulation has always been highlighted as the most effective improvement measure in terms of achieving conservation benefits. The increasing performance standards expected following the Energy White Paper are likely to bring increasing demands for external insulation. This has very particular practical issues for historic and traditional buildings, in that modern impervious coatings prevent buildings from "breathing" - leading to build-ups of moisture internally, frost cracking of render, and decay of historic fabric. I have been working for over 30 years (my entire professional career) to persuade owners, contractors, and (sometimes) architects not to use these damaging impervious coatings on old buildings. This involves re-educating people trained in modern building practices: construction industry training, at all levels, is focused almost exclusively on new work - even though 50% of construction work is carried out to existing buildings. Now there is a real risk of mistakenly further encouraging the same damaging practices, in the name of countering climate change - unless those responsible for promoting, regulating, and implementing realize that, for at least the 25% of the existing building stock which dates from before 1919, different principles have to be understood and different approaches may need to be applied.

 

2.2.1.d) Micro generation

Government efforts have been concentrated more on adding micro-generation (solar, wind, heat pumps etc) than on the basics of insulation and behaviours that could make the real difference. This has been particularly unfortunate in that the focus has been on adding bits of "kit", sometimes of limited productive value (e.g. micro wind turbines) by comparison with conservation measures, to buildings - and often in highly visible and obtrusive locations.

 

 

 

2.2.2 Impact / design quality

 

2.2.2.a) Windows

Look at any window in a pre-1945 building, and it will almost always be symmetrical in appearance, with well-proportioned window panes, and opening lights accommodated without unbalancing the appearance. In contrast, the typical post-war EJMA timber windows are badly-proportioned, with chunky softwood frames with double thicknesses around opening lights, and smaller panes within them, all reinforcing the asymmetric appearance. The need to accommodate double or triple glazing in timber does lead to thicker sections, but there is no functional reason whatever for new high-performance windows not to have the symmetry and good proportions of their pre-1945 predecessors. These failings of the timber window industry have been perpetuated and compounded by upvc manufacturers. upvc offers little or no possibility of matching the appearance of timber windows because of the nature of the material: it is impossible to match extruded plastic to thin timber sections.

It is particularly frustrating that UK manufacturers have still barely begun to address the aesthetics of window design, when Scandinavian manufacturers have been making well-proportioned high-performance windows for at least 20 years.

2.2.2 b) External insulation

 

External insulation would have a dramatic adverse impact on the appearance of pre-1919 traditional and other historic buildings. The colours and textures of brickwork, the relationships between doors, windows, walls and roof, and the detailing of arches, doorheads, eaves etc are all vital parts of the appearance of a building. All could be masked by external insulation. Such impacts need to be very carefully considered. For buildings which are parts of a terrace, or other formal compositions, the impact of cladding one part needs to be considered in terms of the whole - and if possible a unified approach needs to be made.

There is no sign that as yet the Government has as yet taken account of the potentially disastrous impacts external insulation could have on the character of listed buildings and conservation areas.

 

2.2.2.c) Micro generation

 

The visual impacts, noted in the previous paragraph, of turbines, solar panels etc have been exacerbated because the products on the market have generally been technical solutions designed without consideration of appearance or potential context. Individual units have been added to existing buildings as afterthoughts, and without regard for the potential structural (forces arising from wind turbines) and /or visual consequences. Solar panels in particular are disruptive to the appearance and texture of traditional roofs, and tend to stick out like "sore thumbs". It is only very recently that products have become available (e.g. photovoltaic "slates" and flat solar panels) which offer potential for improved integration into the design and fabric of new or existing buildings.

 

2. 3 Regulation issues and opportunities

 

As noted in 2.2.1 and 2.2.2 above, too often well-intentioned works have been ill-chosen in terms of effectiveness, and unnecessarily adverse in their impacts. The urgent need to address climate change issues means that we now have to catalyse, with Government taking the lead, improved human behaviours and building performance on a much larger scale. There are major issues in terms of both the nature of the works, and of industry capacity (manufacturing and implementing). These can only be resolved by much stronger and better-considered Government intervention, in terms of :

a) influencing the behaviours of owners etc (in terms of what they do and how),

b) minimising wasteful and harmful interventions, by making best practice widespread and encouraging appropriate solutions,

c) developing appropriate skills in the industry,

d) stimulating the market to make unit costs come down, and

e) encouraging the manufacturers to produce better-designed and more aesthetically pleasing products.

To achieve these, a combination of fiscal and regulatory incentives is needed.

 

3. Energy performance certificates

 

These should recognize the different performance characteristics of pre-1919 traditional buildings, and the need for special consideration of appropriate solutions for historic and visually significant buildings and locations. Those drafting the certificates need to be trained to recognise and understand these characteristics and issues.

 

4. The provision of information for households and prospective house buyers, including energy performance certificates

 

Better information is essential; this needs to cover behaviours (both the way householders use their buildings and the need for maintenance) and appropriate works. The problems experienced with Home Information Packs in their present limited form have been particularly disappointing, because what is really needed (for both building owners and prospective purchasers) is a Building Log Book. Log Books could provide ready-reference essential information on the construction and history of houses, on the works carried out to them, and on how best to use, maintain, and improve their performance.

How I wish such a Building Log Book had been supplied with the house my wife and I bought 5 years ago! We have had a nightmare time because the previous owners kept no records of electrical and other works, which have turned out to be of very dubious quality. We are now having to seriously consider removing wall finishes on an extension built only 7 years ago, simply to find out where the cabling goes and where it would be safe to put brackets for new curtain poles!

 

5. Government efforts to reduce carbon emissions from existing housing stock whether in private or public ownership and other related programmes including Decent Homes

 

Government should promote exemplar projects for the appropriate refurbishment of traditional dwellings. Government also needs to be mindful of the extent of building works being carried out, which may meet modern constructional standards, but in ways which could prevent adding energy conservation or microgeneration measures.

The loft extension carried out to our house by the previous owners reduced the scope for insulation and involved removal of the hot water tank; the boiler (at ground floor) does not have a tank. We have been exploring the use of solar panels (our rear extension has good orientation), but installation would be particularly difficult and disruptive because of the way the extension was done. There must be many thousands of loft extensions across the country with similar difficulties.

 

6. The technologies available to reduce emissions and the Government's role in facilitating relevant further technological development

 

The key technological issues may relate to behaviours and energy use within the home, rather than building works, although Government has a key role to play in promoting improved design of energy saving and microgeneration technologies. As noted above, technologies are only part of the issue, and there needs to be a very strong focus also on appropriate construction practices and skills.

 

7. The costs associated with reducing carbon emissions from existing housing, who should meet those costs and particularly, in respect of low-income households, interaction between carbon emission reductions and the Government's ambitions to reduce poverty

 

This is a very serious issue which needs to be tackled in ways which recognise the need for appropriate solutions. There may be scope for economies of scale.

 

8. The specific challenges which may arise in relation to housing of special architectural or historical interest

 

8.1 I suggest that to achieve its aims, the Committee needs to broaden the focus of this query from housing of special interest to include all pre-1919 traditional buildings, to address the issues noted in 2.2.1and 6 above. As noted, all such buildings may need different approaches to the improvement of more modern structures, and the means have to be provided for ensuring this.

 

8.2 Turning to "housing of special architectural or historic interest", I suggest that the appropriate principles to follow have already been established within Part L of the Building Regulations - special consideration, within the general principle of seeking improvements where possible without damaging special interest, for a wide range of "historic buildings". In principle this regulatory approach allows expert advice (through Conservation and Building Control teams of the Local Planning Authority, working together) to be given on improvements appropriate to the particular building: - in fact, just the approach which is needed on a more widespread scale to promote effective upgrading of the stock.

 

8.3 However this approach is compromised in practice, for buildings which are not Statutory listed, because there is no requirement to seek permission or consult, for works to a dwelling, unless the works are not "permitted development" (subject to an Article 4 direction or otherwise outwith the General Permitted Development Order). It is further flawed because the use of outsourced Building Control, and/or FENSA window installers, can bypass the opportunity for a joined-up approach.

 

8.4 There is a mismatch between the lack of regulation (GPDO) over householder works, and the special consideration under Part L. This needs to be resolved by addressing the issue of Permitted Development rights for buildings in Conservation Areas and the other categories of "historic building" given special consideration under Part L. Restriction of specific Permitted Development rights on window replacement and external insulation would help ensure that appropriate solutions are adopted and energy conservation aims are achieved. While Government has hesitated for 15 years (since the English Historic Towns Forum's "Townscape in Trouble" highlighted the issues) over restricting permitted development rights in Conservation Areas, the introduction of Part L restrictions over householders' freedom in 2002 was received with minimal opposition. Now is the time to provide a joined-up approach, which I am sure would be accepted by the public.

 

9. Conclusions

 

9.1 What is needed is a sound basis for ensuring appropriate upgrading of the housing stock to meet climate change challenges, while avoiding either wastage of resources on misconceived works, or needless damage to the quality of our built environment.

9.2 Informed choices and best practice (including development of better technology at lower cost) need to be made widespread through a combination of increased (but well-targeted) regulation, and incentives.

 

9.3 Difficult choices, balancing different values and environmental "goods" may be involved. British Standard BS 7913:1998 A guide to the principles of the conservation of historic buildings provides an excellent starting point for such decisions - provided that it is made available far more widely than its price of £68 for 28 pages allows. (I have in the past suggested that English Heritage should seek the republication of this document in far greater volumes, with a cover price of say £5).