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News Release from: National Home Improvement Council [NHIC] | Subject: Housing renovation
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 03 April 2006
NHIC housing renovation firmly in the
spotlight
The National Home Improvement Council says the latest housing projections plus the Budget firmly places more intense action on housing renovation at the top of the political agenda.
The National Home Improvement Council says the latest housing projections for England plus the Chancellor's Budget statement about affordable housing, firmly places more intense action on housing renovation at the top of the political agenda NHIC Director, Graham Ponting, says: "With the Government's determination to provide more homes across the housing spectrum, especially affordable ones, this firmly places the emphasis on stepping up renovation"
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 30 Nov 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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"There are around 6.7m UK houses which are classified non-decent, many of them standing empty, which should be renovated and modernised and urgently brought back into the housing stock arena".
""They can all be brought up-to-date to include full insulation plus the very latest energy-saving technology to help reduce CO2 emissions and meet the Chancellor's fuel poverty elimination target".
"There really are some fine homes out there which are extremely well-built by today's standards but they've fallen behind in the modernisation stakes".
Further reading
Greater sustainability in home improvements
Sustainable renovation and improvements to both private and social sector homes are being urged by the National Home Improvement Council.
Private housing falling behind in "decent homes"
NHIC says English private housing stock is falling behind in "decent homes" refurbishment.
"With a committed investment in their renovation plus environmental improvements they can quickly and very economically plug a major gap in the nation's urgent housing requirement".
The ODPM projections are for at least 209,000 new homes a year over the next two decades and 60% of them in the south of England.
Ponting suggest that this is a formidable task for housebuilders and a target, which can only be met successfully with the help of renovations.
He points out that in addition to bringing existing, redundant housing out of the non-decent sector, "there are thousands of large houses, offices and retail premises standing empty which could be readily converted into modern, highly acceptable dwellings for rent or sale".
"These type of properties are often in town and city centres where affordable homes for key workers are often most in demand".
"Ponting explains: "In fact many housing associations are doing just this and from the number of submissions we receive for our Annual Awards Scheme involving redundant churches, offices and shops, we can see it's being carried out extremely successfully".
""The expertise and ingenuity which goes into them embraces some of the latest energy efficient technologies such as wind power, microgeneration and ground source heat pumps".
"Infact, technologies which the new building housing sector is finding difficult to come to terms with!" "If we are to meet the nation's urgent housing requirement," Ponting emphasises, "then the Government must give much greater support to renovation and modernisation which can make all the difference to fulfilling the UK's housing challenge.".
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