2. Though building development plans often pay lip service to ecology they often fail to deliver. Should houses still be going up locally without solar panels, comprehensive insulation, air source heating etc? Would you support more binding requirements at the local and national level?

Ian Middleton (Green Party):

“Yes. That’s one of the major things Greens in government would do. We’re unable to mandate sustainable building methods and priorities without changes in national legislation. We desperately need a change of approach on planning and building regulations.”

Veronica Oakeshott (Labour Party):

“Labour wants exemplary development to be the norm not the exception. We will take steps to ensure we are building more high-quality, well-designed, and sustainable homes and creating places that increase climate resilience and promote nature recovery. I am keen to see all the things mentioned above in new houses.

Labour will invest an extra £6.6 billion over the next parliament, doubling the existing planned government investment, to upgrade five million homes to cut bills for families.

The Warm Homes Plan will offer grants and low interest loans to support investment in insulation and other improvements such as solar panels, batteries and low carbon heating to cut bills. We will partner with combined authorities, local and devolved governments, to roll out this plan. Labour will also work with the private sector, including banks and building societies, to provide further private finance to accelerate home upgrades and low carbon heating. We will ensure homes in the private rented sector meet minimum energy efficiency standards by 2030, saving renters hundreds of pounds and reducing emissions.”

Calum Miller (Liberal Democrats):

“It is a nonsense that the government refuses to oblige housing developers to make new houses zero carbon and to permit them to install gas boilers which will need to be replaced soon.”

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