Government faces prospect of legal challenge on Merton Rule U-turn

According to the Guardian newspaper the Sustainable Energy Partnership – a body that represents the UK’s renewable energy and insulation trade bodies - has written to housing minister Yvette Cooper to remind her of the government’s commitment to renewable energy through initiatives such as tightening the Merton Rule to encourage the establishment of a microgeneration industry.

The challenge follows speculation in the last few weeks that the government is set to publish a new draft planning policy statement that will effectively abolish the Merton Rule, the local authority driven policy that demands all new buildings reduce carbon emissions by 10% or similar through the use of renewable energy sources. The government has denied that it is about to make a U-turn.