King Sturge attacks pre-budget announcement

Angus McIntosh, head of research at King Sturge, criticised plans to make all new homes zero carbon within 10 years. He said that new homes account for only 1% of overall building therefore the plan would have neglible effect on emissions. “There may be carbon spent creating the building materials. There may be carbon used in getting to and from the home. At this stage it is very unclear whether they will measure the energy consumption of the building, the energy consumption of the occupants, or how energy efficient the construction of a building is.” He said the move was “just sound bite politics”.

He added that a badly insulated four-bedroom home occupied by six people was - per person - more efficient than a well-insulated four-bed home where only one lives.

McIntosh also attacked Gordon Brown’s announcement that another 160,000 families would be helped onto the housing ladder through shared equity schemes in the next four years. He said: "We need 1m new homes, not 160,000, so this will not solve the problem. Also, the idea of shared equity will push up house prices but will not help certain people who cannot afford to buy a home."