Government faces legal challenge over green homes roadblock

The government is facing a legal challenge over its planning policy on energy efficiency standards for new homes.

The Good Law Project and advocacy group Rights Community Action have announced they are taking the UK government to court for a directive limiting local authorities from introducing “local plans” to improve energy efficiency in housing beyond “national policy”, even if communities want to go further.

In a written ministerial statement issued in December, the government stated that proposals for local energy efficiency standards that improve on current or planned buildings regulation “should be rejected” unless they meet checks defined by central government.

It also declares that any improved regulations that manage to get through “should be applied flexibly” – making it all too easy for developers to ride roughshod over them.

This, argues the Good Law Project, muddies the waters around energy efficiency, making it much harder for local planning authorities to set targets in line with net zero.

They also say it stalls crucial progress to cut the 20% of UK greenhouse gas emissions that come from domestic properties.

According to Good Law Project’s legal manager Ian Browne, the government must listen to its own rhetoric on local empowerment and “remove the roadblock on green homes”.

“The Tories talk up a storm about letting local people take control of local decisions. And they’re quite happy to back them when they fit with their divisive agenda on grammar schools or onshore wind. But as soon as local people stand up to big business they want to grab the wheel.”

According to Naomi Luhede-Thompson, CEO at Rights Community Action, the government seems determined to “smash any hopes” of communities adopting carbon plans.

“Building homes that are warm, generate their own electricity, and provide safety and security to people should be the priority of any practical, forward-thinking and knowledgeable government.”