Environment

The government is proposing changes to environmental regulations that currently require developers to enhance wildlife habitats as compensation for natural areas lost during construction. The ...

The now defunct Green Homes Grant was fraught with problems, with low customer take up in some areas and contractors overwhelmed with enquiries in others ...

A 149-year old, formerly derelict church in Hexham, Northumberland has achieved Passivhaus standard - thought to be the first building of its type to do ...

In the urban environment, trees act as a natural visual and sound barrier and can even increase the value of a property while reducing energy ...

A number of the houses in Leeds could be described as way beyond their ‘sell by date’. As such, they fall well below the acceptable ...

Hemp has been used for thousands of years for such things as its fibre for rope making, food and traditional medicines. It belongs to the ...

In the ever-evolving landscape of home heating and cooling, heat pumps have emerged as versatile contenders, promising energy efficiency and year-round climate control. But are ...

The government's Heat and Buildings Strategy introduced funding for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS). The scheme provides financial assistance to householders in England and Wales ...

Keeping the water in your home safe to use is essential for maintaining the overall health and well-being of its occupants. Contaminated water can cause ...

Road users around the UK will be familiar with ULEZ and the growing range of other acronyms concerning clean air zones. But should we consider ...

As a result of factors including urbanisation, climate change and increased house building, flooding is becoming a more regular occurrence in the UK. As a ...

Do we want it? Yes, we do. Most of those surveyed by YouGov said they would like to live in a 15-minute city or neighbourhood ...

A housing and care provider has built a new property development in Redditch but, what sets the development apart from others, is the use of ...

Laws designed to protect wetlands have been blamed for delays in building up to 120,000 new homes. A 2018 court of justice ruling to protect ...

Conservation, and the preservation of historic buildings, is preventing owners of listed buildings from adding eco-friendly improvements to their homes to reduce their carbon footprint ...

The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme raises funds from a levy on energy bills to pay for energy efficiency improvements for home owners and tenants ...

A neighbourhood of 300 homes in the east of Scotland has been selected to test a new hydrogen power network in the next three years ...

The fabric of some of the UK's most important historic buildings are under attack by the clothes moth and other pests, thanks to climate change ...

Nothing compares to the warm and cosy ambiance provided by a stove in the home. It should be noted that there are currently no plans ...

Gas shortages and a looming price increase on energy bills has made going green even more of a priority for home owners and businesses. Air ...

All new homes and buildings in England must have electric car chargers, the government says, as it aims to ban the sale of new petrol ...

One of the biggest challenges in our quest to reduce the carbon footprint of our homes is home heating. A big challenge indeed, when the ...

Flood Re has helped around 350,000 home owners obtain buildings insurance, but the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) says that helping owners ...

Environment Secretary, George Eustice, has said that local planning authorities will soon be forced to refer decisions to the Housing Secretary in instances where the ...

An open letter to government has called for climate change plans to be less complicated and confusing if England is to achieve net zero. The ...

Historic England has warned that thatched roofs may no longer exist in 20 years time. Thatched buildings need regular maintenance using like-for-like materials. It is ...

In a new report to government, the Climate Change Committee has said that 570,000 new-build homes constructed since its last assessment in 2017 will need ...

Turning the UK carbon neutral by 2050 comes at a cost, and with residential property currently one of the biggest producers of greenhouses gases, homeowners ...

The sale of new gas boilers for home heating is due to be banned from new build properties in 2025, and natural gas boilers  eventually ...

A stunning property with beautiful sea views can often command a matching stunning price tag, but coastal erosion and rising sea levels mean some properties ...

A government programme is funding two new hydrogen heated homes in Low Thornley, Gateshead. The houses will be built by April 2021, and will be ...

After reaching just 10% of the 600,000 homes that the government had targeted for help, the £300 million Green Homes Grant has been withdrawn. The ...

Most homeowners would agree that finding fungi in the house is far from 'fun'. However, there are some uses of fungi that homeowners might find ...

The government's advisory Climate Change Committee says that £2 billion needs to be spent every year until 2030 to meet its climate change targets. To ...

Many of us have been swooning under the heat this summer as we've struggled to work from home. However, as the heatwave becomes a distant ...

A number of government incentives have been introduced over the years to meet the country's ‘green’ tagets, including Feed-in-Tariffs in 2010 and Renewable Heat Grants ...

The government's new Green Homes Grant is due to be launched in England in September 2020. Under the scheme the government will fund between £5,000 ...

A £2 billion home insulation grant scheme is due to be introduced in September to encourage homeowners in England to make energy saving improvements to ...

Denbighshire County Council's planning officers recommended that an affordable housing development should be built, even though it would mean building in an at-risk flood area, ...

The energy efficiency of British homes must be urgently improved, according to experts. In 2018, the UK's homes produce nearly 66 million tonnes of CO2 ...

A household survey of over 2,000 UK homeowners has been published on behalf of the Home Builders Federation, in preparation for a summit to plot ...

You may live in a disability friendly home but looking for a disability friendly hotel room that breaks with tradition may not be straightforward. To ...

The picturesque town of Oakham in Rutland has no permanent speed traps, is home to England's largest reservoir and boasts the remains of a Norman ...

A number of cities have made, or are planning to make, their centres free from traffic. In the UK Bath, Birmingham, Oxford and York have ...

The modern political slang term ‘woke’ has African American origins and refers to the perceived awareness of issues concerning social and racial justice. The property ...

If you've put the lawnmower away for the year and need an excuse not to get it out again next spring, you might like to ...

At Staffordshire's Keele University, a group of students is embarking on a one year project which will teach them how to live sustainably. The mainly ...

The Royal Institute of Architecture's biggest award has this year been awarded to a project by Norwich City Council. As well as the RIBA Stirling Prize ...

Portsmouth City Council hopes to 'put people first' by changing the way people travel. It plans to create a community that is 'more visible', thus ...

The not-for-profit organisation, Central Office of Public Interest (COPI), raises national awareness on air pollution. It began its latest campaign, addresspollution.org, in May this year ...

Climate change and our impact on the environment are likely to have a long-term impact on the planet. We look at passive housing, a concept ...

The Scottish Government set out ambitious plans in 2007 to build more low carbon homes although house builders have felt little pressure from home buyers ...

A family living completely off-grid in Cumbria claims that their only outgoing is council tax. Their home is just outside the small village of Gamblesby, ...

No-one can have missed the recent media reports and stark messages about global warming. There is a  general consensus that we must sit up and ...

New regulations have been announced following a report from the Committee on Climate Change (CCC)  that advises the government. The new standard bans the use of ...

The development of new housing without sufficient transport infrastructure in place has contributed to greater car dependency, leaving non-drivers of all ages isolated, less active ...

Few of the increasing number of homes in the UK are without a washing machine, dishwasher, bath or shower, but did you know that the ...

An offshore dairy farm will be the first of its kind in the world, when it opens later this year in the port of Rotterdam ...

An impressive Grade II Listed decommissioned lighthouse, built on Orford Ness on the Suffolk coastline, now stands on its own peninsula and is at risk ...

Following a Court of Appeal ruling, Network Rail has lost its appeal over damages that could enable land owners to claim damages if Japanese Knotweed ...

The summer of 2018 will be remembered for reaching the semi-final stages of the World Cup and for the record-breaking hot weather that we have ...

Residents of homes along the sandy cliffs of Hemby, on the Norfolk coast, are no strangers to coastal erosion. Indeed, their homes have been tumbling ...

Japanese Knotweed (F.japonica) is a problem. It is hugely invasive, can prevent you from selling your home and, indeed, mortgage lenders are unlikely to lend ...

Most people would agree that focusing on making our homes more energy efficient would in turn reduce demand and costs. However, an independent climate change organisation ...

There are now around 17,000 district and communal heating networks (HNs) in the UK, delivering heat from a central source to public sector buildings, offices ...

The news that the percentage of the UK land area that is densely built upon is 0.1% has won the title of UK Statistic of ...

In a number of mainly riverside and coastal areas around Britain, the more extreme weather occurrences of the last few years have caused land erosion ...

Rats are reportedly on the increase this autumn, due to a combination of wetter weather and cooler temperatures. Rats are most likely to seek food ...

Section 74A of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 and the Street Works (charges for occupation of the highway) (England) Regulations 2012 have ...

Some areas across the UK received over two weeks of rain in less than an hour on 18th July, while an inch of rain fell ...