There is a growing population of architects, builders and planners who are familiar with CSH, and know what needs to be done in order to meet what can be a strict and rigorous planning condition.

One thing is definitely for certain: C4SH (The Code) requirements can be a postcode lottery; you are far more likely to be asked for the Code if you are building in the South East of England or around the Midlands. Although more and more planners are starting to ask for CSH compliance, especially on larger developments. Also with the looming presumption in favour of sustainable development, even in circumstances where Code compliance is not a planning requirement, ‘The Code’ will become a very useful tool in demonstrating proposed developments sustainable credentials.

This means there is a constant trickle of Architects, Surveyors, Contractors and Developers who are discovering ‘The Code’ for the first time.  Therefore here is a very brief synopsis of what it involves.

WHAT IS IT?

The Code takes energy efficient houses to a level much higher than current Building Regulations require - you need to consider nine key elements including the sustainability of the materials, site ecology, flood risks, water conservation as well as the more well known Energy Efficiency and Target Emission Rate.

HOW DO I COMPLY?

Each of the nine categories has several sub-sections. If you can prove you comply with one of these sections you will be awarded credits. If you achieve enough credits, you will be able to prove that you are compliant with one of six levels of the Code.

CAN I CHOOSE WHAT I AIM FOR?

Your Planning department will impose a Code Level on you; usually Level 3 or 4 (the higher the level, the more efficient the house needs to be; Level 6 is zero carbon). Which credits you choose to comply with in order to reach these Levels is entirely down to you - although Jonathan would strongly recommend you seek his advice, otherwise you could be spending thousands of pounds unnecessarily.

HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO ACHIEVE CREDITS?

It depends on your aims as well as project specifics. There are credits which can be simple to achieve: (if you're not installing white goods, you can give the end user of the home a leaflet about high efficiency appliances... that's one credit.) Others are very time consuming (monitoring mileage of all site traffic to ascertain the CO2 levels of all transport visiting the development).

 

WHEN DO I NEED TO THINK ABOUT THE CODE?

I you need to achieve a particular Code level in order to comply with Planning, get in touch with an assessor immediately. The more input you can get on compliance for your specific project while you're still at design stage the better. Some of the most fundamental design decisions such as a buildings orientation and siting can have an impact of its performance. Also it can be extremely difficult and time consuming to gather sufficient evidence retrospectively.

HOW LONG DOES THE ASSESSMENT TAKE?

A pre planning assessment can be carried out based upon your initial design information and is an extremely useful tool to demonstrate the buildings likely compliance to Planners, Jonathan can carry one of these out within several days, depending on the project complexity. The full assessment will continue throughout the design stage and it will be completed once enough evidence has been received by the assessor to award you enough credits to comply. (Some of these need to wait until the houses have been built and a site inspection is carried out).

WHY IS THE CODE LOCALIZED?

 The Code is currently an assessment that Planning authorities can choose to opt in to. This is not the same as the SAP assessment which is a mandatory element of Building Regulations. As such, some councils have adopted the Code, others have not. In the future, it is likely that Part L and the Target Emission Rate will be made stricter, and will incorporate some of the elements currently in The Code. As such The Code is likely to evolve and give greater weighting to areas not covered within the Building Regulations.

DOES THIS APPLY TO ALL BUILDINGS?

The Code can only be used on new dwellings. There are similar assessments available to renovation work (Ecohomes) and commercial developments (Breeam).

If you have any queries please contact Jonathan for a chat on 01752 786745, or email on jb@riba.co



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