News archive for March, 2015
What’s Next for Security in Housing Design?
Posted on March 15th 2015
With the recent government confirmation that security is to be a mandatory Building Regulation, taking effect on 1 October 2015, what should developers expect from the new Part Q Approved Document? Site wide planning policies on security, including Secured by Design Section 1, which considers external design and layout of development, remain unaffected by the ministerial announcement. The new Part …
Designing Buildings for Good Internal Air Quality
Posted on March 9th 2015
Poor internal air quality in UK homes is having a serious effect on the health of occupiers. This is a direct consequence of more airtight, energy efficient houses with inadequate ventilation. Through good design, both energy efficiency and ventilation can be optimised, providing high quality housing which will benefit health and wellbeing. We are able to advise on successfully balancing …
Renewable Heat Incentive for New Build Housing
Posted on March 9th 2015
There are two distinct Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) schemes: Domestic and Non-Domestic. Paradoxically, it is the non-domestic scheme that is of most relevance to housing developers and can offer opportunities to reduce operational costs and hence resident heat bills. The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) was brought in to provide long-term incentives to switch from use of fossil fuels to renewable …
Alfred Homes Complete Their First ‘Zero Carbon’ Home
Posted on March 9th 2015
Alfred Homes have recently completed their first ‘zero carbon’ home on their Alarth, Dean Lane development in Winchester. Alarth is a development of three spacious detached houses in a semi-rural location and designed with traditional exteriors to fit in with the local area. We assisted Alfred Homes from the planning application stage through the detailed design, culminating in the production …
The Importance of Considering Noise Issues at Planning
Posted on March 9th 2015
Noise assessment is becoming an increasingly important issue for urban development to meet planning requirements. Proposed residential development in high density locations, often in brownfield or previously developed commercial sites, may require one or more types of noise assessment to provide assurance to local authorities that noise issues have been appropriately considered and mitigated. BS 8233:2014 and BS 12354-3:2000 give …