
Conservation of the past trumps going green
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 ...
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ECO scheme expansion hits snag – but what is “ECO”?
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 ...
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Hydrogen heating
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 ...
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Climate change behind mammoth clothes moth attack
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 ...
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New rules for stoves and fuels
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 ...
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Energy bills – heat pumps that CAN replace gas boilers?
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 ...
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Car chargers – the high price of going green
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 ...
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Got a plan to reduce your home’s carbon footprint?
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 ...
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Business properties unable to access Flood Re
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 ...
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Local planning authorities to refer environment-related decisions
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 ...
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Calls to demystify net zero homes
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 ...
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Chocolate box thatched roofs under threat
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 ...
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New homes too hot to handle?
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 ...
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Energy efficient homes
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 ...
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Home heating – blue hydrogen, green hydrogen or heat pumps?
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 ...
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Fancy a life on the edge? We look at coastal erosion
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 ...
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UK trial of hydrogen heated homes to begin
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 ...
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Green Homes home insulation grant funding redirected to local authorities
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 ...
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Think you know fungi?
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 ...
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Green Homes Grant fiasco
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 ...
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Cold room in your home? We look at BTUs
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 ...
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A surveyor’s guide to harnessing geothermal power
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 ...
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Green Homes Grant concerns over quality of work
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 ...
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Home insulation grant for homeowners in England
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 ...
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Government accused of hypocrisy over building in at-risk flood areas
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, ...
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Energy efficiency in UK homes
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 ...
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Household survey on attitudes towards carbon emissions
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 ...
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Physical challenges facing disabled people in their homes
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 ...
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Concern over house prices due to new McDonald’s in Oakham
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 ...
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Car-free city centres spread across the UK
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 ...
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Discover whether you live in a ‘woke’ city
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 ...
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Re-wilding could seriously damage property prices
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 ...
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University students living sustainably on campus
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 ...
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RIBA Stirling Prize awarded to ‘modern masterpiece’ in Norwich
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 ...
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Putting people first at a car-free Portsmouth peninsula
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 ...
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Possible 20% house price reductions due to air pollution
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 ...
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What is passive housing?
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 ...
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Refurbished House looks at ‘real’ sustainable renovation
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 ...
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Meet the frugal family who live in an off-grid home
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, ...
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Your greener and more energy efficient home
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 ...
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New regulations in new builds could mean an end to gas heating
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 ...
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‘A barren public realm dominated by parked cars’
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 ...
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Call for compulsory water meters to help combat water shortages
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 ...
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The world’s first floating environmental-friendly farm launches in Rotterdam
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 ...
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Grade II listed Orfordness Lighthouse at risk from the sea
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 ...
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Network Rail loses legal battle against Japanese Knotweed
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 ...
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Hidden buildings and historic gardens revealed by summer heatwave
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 ...
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Thinking of moving your home? A dramatic move at Hemsby, Norfolk, follows in the footsteps of bigger house moves!
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 ...
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Report that Japanese Knotweed ‘cannot be eradicated’ sparks horrified industry reaction worthy of Knotweed itself!
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 ...
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Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland spending more on promoting energy efficient homes than England
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 ...
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Heat network consumers asked to express their views
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 ...
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Good news for 83% of the UK’s population – the UK has not been concreted over!
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 ...
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Extreme weather and lack of maintenance causing physical erosion – leading to environmental disaster in the future as landfill site washes into the sea
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 ...
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Tuck your trousers in your socks and stand on a chair! Rat invasion on its way
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 ...
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Utility companies paying £2,500 a day to dig up the road
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 ...
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Coverack hit by flash flood after spending £300k on sea defences
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 ...
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