Our place! Neighbourhood community budgets

Posted on: 22 July 2013
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The Local Government Association and the Department for Communities and Local Government have produced a number of guides for local authorities implementing neighbourhood community budgets.

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4th Global Forum on Urban Resilience and Adaptation. Bonn, 31 May – 2 June 2013

Posted on: 22 July 2013
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The aim of this event was to provide current, actionable advice for local governments to create more resilient cities. Themes tackled include: risk and vulnerability assessment; adaptation and resilience planning and policy making; multi-stakeholder and community-based collaboration; governance; implementing specific adaptation solutions; financing resilience; and resilient urban food systems. Presentations and a conference report are available online.

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London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Legacy: Sustainable procurement for construction projects. A guide

Posted on: 19 July 2013
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This new quick reference guide brings together London 2012’s learning on sustainable procurement of construction projects. The aim of the guide is to assist procurers in central government and the wider public sector to manage large or smaller procurement exercises that relate to construction in a way that achieves sustainability objectives.

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Post legislative assessment of the Crossrail Act 2008

Posted on: 19 July 2013
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This memorandum provides an assessment of the Crossrail Act 2008 and has been prepared by the Department for Transport for submission to the Transport Select Committee. The department sought the views of individuals in Crossrail Limited, Transport for London and local authorities amongst others in order to reach a balanced assessment of the Crossrail Act 2008.

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National Policy Statement for Hazardous Waste

Posted on: 19 July 2013
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The Hazardous Waste National Policy Statement (NPS) ets out the strategic need and justification of Government policy for the provision of such infrastructure. It will be used to guide decisions made by the Planning Inspectorate. The NPS provides a framework for the Secretary of State, but also provides guidance throughout for potential developers and in particular advises on what should be included in their assessment of the potential impacts of a particular project.

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Community energy and localism resources

Posted on: 19 July 2013
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The Centre for Sustainable Energy has added a new section to its PlanLoCaL website covering localism and neighbourhood planning in the context of community energy. New materials are available to download, and a short introductory video.

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Keeping costs down on commercial

Posted on: 18 July 2013
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From inception and planning through to the construction and defects liability periods, costs on all schemes rapidly mount up.  In this programme Sweett Group director Andrew Moore and architect Suzette Vela Burkett, a director of Aukett Fitzroy Robinson, discuss how the project team ensure the scheme is built within the agreed cost parameters. They discuss the importance of clear channels of communication and clarity of vision and explain how the architect’s vision can be realised without compromising the budget.

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The private rented sector

Posted on: 18 July 2013
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The House of Commons Communities and Local Government Select Committee has published the findings of its inquiry into the private rented sector. It was against the backdrop of steady growth of the sector that the Committee decided to conduct its inquiry. The growth has put the spotlight on four key issues, and these have been central to developing a thriving market and to the inquiry. First, there is a common view that more should be done to raise standards of property and management in some parts of the sector. Second, concerns have been raised about the lack of regulation of letting agents and the extent of sharp practice by some agents, in particular the fees they charge to tenants and landlords. Third, especially with the increase in the number of families living in the sector, there have been calls by some for much greater security of tenure. Finally, there is widespread lack of awareness amongst both tenants and landlords about their respective rights and responsibilities and about the law covering the private rented sector.

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Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery in new homes: Final report

Posted on: 18 July 2013
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This final report from the Ventilation and Indoor Air Quality (VIAQ) Task Group reviews available evidence on the performance of MVHR in new homes. It sets out key recommendations to ensure that future installations are well designed, installed and commissioned and have clear operational guidelines for occupants.

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Energy performance certificates in buildings and their impact on transaction prices and rents in selected EU countries: Final report

Posted on: 18 July 2013
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This study considers whether or not the energy performance certificates (EPC) rating of a building has an effect on the sale or rental price. The study carried out detailed econometric analysis on combined datasets of EPC information and data on sales prices and rents. As each EPC scheme and country or region is different, it can be expected that the strength of any such effect will vary. The underlying policy regimes are thus assessed in a harmonised way and overall conclusions for policy makers drawn.

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