ARK calls for Code 3 funding rethink.

Ian Moores calls for the Government to rethink its funding policy in relation to new builds achieving Code For Sustainable Homes (CSH) Level 3 status.

Ian Moores is a Code Assessor and director of the leading architectural firm ARK Design and Architecture.

Presently the Government allocates little or no additional funding to newly built social housing, which has to meet the stringent new CSH Code Level 3.

This is despite Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) having to incur substantial extra costs in meeting the new standards, which came into force as part of the Code for Sustainable Homes - which seeks to achieve zero carbon new builds by 2016.

The construction specification is now substantially higher, leading to significant cost increases which are funded from the standard budget.

Ian, as a Code Assessor and an architect working within the social housing sector, has first hand experience of the plight faced by many RSLs.

Early research undertaken by the Government's own cost consultants originally confirmed that bringing housing units up to Code 3 would come at little extra cost to the sector.

"In practice this is proving to be far from accurate.

Additional materials and equipment are putting substantial sums onto unit build costs, and the problem faced by the RSLs is set to escalate in the next few months as design teams struggle to develop affordable solutions".

The Code for Sustainable Homes introduces minimum standards for energy and water efficiency at every level of the new national standard.

The Code measures the sustainability of a home against key design categories, rating the 'whole home' as a complete package.

The minimum standards for Code compliance have been set above the requirements of Building Regulations.

Homes are assessed at design stage and require verification at post-completion stage.

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