Ministers Focus On Councils’ Decarbonisation Scheme After Green Homes Grant Scrapped

The government is expecting many councils to bid for an extra £300m funding pot as part of an extended scheme to help decarbonise homes. The government said that 96,000 applications had been made through the Green Homes Grant scheme and 39,000 vouchers had been issued, with vouchers totalling £300m eventually expected to be issued. But MPs on the Environmental Audit Committee said the administration of the troubled scheme seems “nothing short of disastrous”. Read more on the Social Housing website.

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Contamination Risk To Hundreds Of Future Housing Sites

Hundreds of future housing sites across the UK could pose a risk to public health. That risk is posed by a ‘complacent’ government removing council grants to clean up contaminated brownfield land, the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) has warned. The EAC report says around 300,000 hectares of UK soil is thought to be contaminated with toxic elements – such as cadmium, arsenic and lead - as a result of its industrial past. Read more on the Parliament website.

MPs Call On Cameron to Revise Planning Reforms

MPs have urged the prime minister to revise ‘contradictory and confusing’ planning reforms, or face legal challenges to development decisions. A letter to David Cameron from the Environmental Audit Committee expresses concern that the draft National Planning Policy Framework contains a presumption in favour of sustainable development which isn’t properly defined. The measures have faced criticism since they were published in July from environmental groups which claim the changes will lead to development on the greenbelt. Read what the committee had to say on the Parliament website.

Localism Bill Could Block Green Projects

The Localism Bill lacks a definition of sustainable development and could block green projects in the future, a group of MPs has warned. The Environmental Audit Committee will call on the government to urgently amend the bill to combat fears the flagship legislation will fail to adequately promote sustainable development. In a report, the committee warns that while the government has promised a ‘presumption in favour of sustainable development’ to be legislated in the national planning policy framework later this year, it does not contain a definition of what ‘sustainable’ is. The report also warns against the fairness of neighbourhood development plans, suggesting they could favour those who have ‘more time and money to spend on the process’. Download a copy of the report from the Parliament website.