HBF Technical Conference - Codes and Regs - The Way Forward
Housebuilders were given a glimpse of the code for sustainable homes at the HBF technical conference in November, organised by Housebuilder Media.
The DCLG\'s head of building division Mark Coulshed addressed the conference and took part in a lively debate with delegates . He said that several aspects of the code were still to be finalised. “Ministers are not yet certain if the CSH will be mandatory or voluntary or exactly how it will be implemented,” he said.
Delegates expressed concern about the possibility of the code being implemented through the planning process rather than building regulations. Fellow speaker Dave Mitchell, hbf head of technical, said: “Planners are not technical people, technical matters in the code should therefore be dealt with in building regulations.”
The conference finished with an open debate led by a panel consisting of Emyr Poole, senior projects manager at English Partnerships, Alan Yates, BRE technical director, and Mitchell. The panel all agreed that a code should be mandatory in order to ensure a level playing field for all developers.
