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ecoSE Better Buildings Manifesto
On the 19th December 2003 Ron Allen attended the ecoSE Better Buildings Conference at which the ecoSE manifesto for sustainable buildings in a sustainable environment was launched.

The ecoSE partnership has a common objective in ensuring that housing development in the South East takes place in a planned manner. This will allow sustainable economic growth, which will create a better quality of life through addressing social issues, while also protecting and enhancing the environment.
DAVID JORDAN, Director of Operations, Environment Agency and ecoSE Chairperson indicated that:

"The pace and scale of housebuilding is greater in the South East than anywhere else in the UK. This rate of progress can only be supported properly if we consider the needs of the environment from the outset. We can create better homes for people and the environment, if we use water and energy efficient techniques, and if we build carefully to reduce waste during construction and subsequent occupation.

Carrying on as we do now is simply not an option"

"Our manifesto’s core aim is to improve the quality of life for all in the South East by enhancing our existing built environment and raising standards in all proposed developments, making the South East the national "showcase" for sustainable development."

The full text of the manifesto can be read on www.ecose.org.uk. The following is the text of the mission statement and a summary of the approach.

Mission Statement

To improve the ‘Quality of life’ for all in the SE by enhancing our existing built environment and raising standards in all proposed developments, making the South East the national “showcase” for sustainable development.

Approach

ecoSE is committed to working towards a prosperous region that understands the need to balance economic, social, and environmental issues.

Focusing on the proposed growth in the South East, ecoSE is working towards sustainable development by;

Ensuring that the highest quality of design in new developments and their surrounding communities is achieved, creating spaces that can meet people’s changing needs, minimise the impact on the environment and are places where people want to live and work.
Promoting and encouraging the raising of construction standards for all new buildings, regeneration and maintenance to achieve high levels of energy1 and water efficiency coupled with waste minimisation.
Raising the design standards of new homes, by encouraging the following groups to adopt ecohomes “very good” as a minimum standard:
- public and private developers who commission, design and build all new houses
- local authorities in all their local planning policies and practices.
This standard will need to be supported by the Regional Assembly and the Regional Housing Board in their policies, in the Regional Spatial strategy and in the Regional Housing strategy respectively.
Promoting and encouraging the retrofitting of existing stock to raise energy and water efficiency to EcoHome standards “very good”.
Working together to establish new mechanisms, ensuring the industry has the right skills, and promoting financial incentives to encourage better housing design, construction and ‘retro-fitting’ to secure the environmental improvements needed.

What is ecoSE?

ecoSE is a key strategic partnership in the South East of England. The group, set up in May 2003 by the Environment Agency consists of a range of organisations from the public and private sector.
The current membership consists of:

Environment Agency (Southern and Thames Regions)

South East England Regional Assembly

Government Office of the South East (GOSE)

South East England Development Agency (SEEDA)

National Housing Federation South East

WaterVoice

Woking Borough Council

Energy Savings Trust

House Builders Federation

Town and Country Planning Association

ecoSE was formed in response to the "Communities Plan" launched by the Deputy Prime Minister.
This plan was launched to address the housing shortage in the South East.

Fundamentally, the Communities Plan paves the way for a substantial increase in the already high housing targets for the South East region. This plan focuses on the 4 key "growth areas"; Thames Gateway, Ashford, Milton Keynes and the Stansted / Cambridge corridor.

However, much of the housing development planned over the next 30 years will be spread across the whole of the South East of England.

Regional Planning Guidance to 2016 requires provision of some 28,000 new homes per annum, giving a total of 420,000 in the region. New forecasts beyond 2016 have not yet been produced, but an extrapolation of the provision to 2016 would indicate that a further 400,000+ homes would be required in the period to 2031.

It therefore seems highly likely that more than 800,000 homes will be required in the region to 2031, which gives a clear indication of the scale of the sustainable development and design challenges. This is on top of an existing housing stock of around 3.4 million homes.

Hence ecoSE was formed.

What is the housing situation in the South East?

The Regional housing strategy (2003) sets out a vision for housing:

"everyone has the right to a decent home, but we want to make sure that the South East is a place where the quality of our homes is high and people have a choice about the homes they live in. And we want to create sustainable communities, which make a significant contribution to the quality of life and economic prosperity of our area."

Delivery of this vision will take careful planning and implementation. For example, housing development on the scale planned will have a significant environmental impact, particularly in respect of:

Water resources
Water quality
Construction and demolition waste
Domestic waste
Energy consumption
Biodiversity
Flood Plain development

There is therefore an urgent need to review the way in which buildings are designed, constructed and managed in the South East so that these impacts are mitigated to acceptable levels.

The Regional housing strategy recognises key issues of construction and design:

Sustainable construction

"New and existing homes have major social and environmental impacts that extend way beyond the immediate site of the house. Domestic energy use accounts for around 30% of the UK annual energy consumption. Fundamental to the issue of quality and sustainability of the housing stock is ensuring that new homes are well designed and flexible to meet changing needs, energy efficient, use appropriate materials and that have minimal negative impact on the environment.

Incorporating principles of sustainability with quality design gives the opportunity to create better and healthier homes. Such homes provide warmth and healthy internal living environments and buildings with good insulation and energy efficient measures are cheaper to run."

Design

"We need to ensure that the quality of design in new homes is high, to create spaces that can meet people's changing needs, minimise the impact on the environment and are places where people want to live. We also want to ensure that new developments have new technology capabilities such as broadband and that all new homes are designed for lifetime use. The adoption of modern methods of construction is also a key factor."

The work of ecoSE will help to deliver this strategy. However we mustn't just concentrate on new build, there is huge scope for reviewing the efficiency of the existing housing stock, by, for example, retrofitting water and energy efficient appliances.

We also believe that better design and construction standards will benefit the consumer and the industry. Widespread adoption of these techniques will create new markets for the South East, mean that no additional costs will be incurred, and reduce bills for consumers. This solution makes good economic and social sense.

What are ecoSE's key aims?

Sustainable development is about ensuring a better quality of life for everyone, now and for generations to come. It means a more inclusive society which achieves and shares the benefits of increased economic prosperity, in which the environment is protected and improved, and which is less wasteful in its use of natural resources. (SEERA, June 2001)

A key aim for the South East is to ensure that economic growth and development continues, but that negative environmental and social trends that we have witnessed in the past do not continue in the future. The "uncoupling" of these trends presents a major challenge, but also the key to achieving a more sustainable future for the region.

Crucially, there are significant economic and social benefits associated with this approach through the creation of new markets and by reducing some basic living costs. Collectively, these can all contribute to a range of Government targets such as economic growth, social progress, reductions in C02 emissions, enhancing biodiversity and better management of natural resources.

At the same time we must assess what opportunities exist - or could be created - to address the environmental impact of the existing housing stock, which could perhaps be achieved through refurbishment programme or opportunistic retrofitting. Again, the economic and social benefits should be maximised.

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