Context 156 - September 2018

Editor Rob Cowan Editorial Coordinator Michael Taylor, ihbceditorialboard@gmail.com Editorial Board Tom Copp Nigel Crowe Peter de Figueiredo (book reviews) Rebecca Madgin Fiona Newton Gordon Sorensen Jonathan Taylor Michael Taylor (chair) Cartoons by Rob Cowan Context is distributed to all members of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation. © Institute of Historic Building Conservation 2018 ISSN 0958-2746 Publisher Cathedral Communications Limited, High Street, Tisbury,Wiltshire, England SP3 6HA 01747 871717 context@cathcomm.co.uk www.buildingconservation.com Non-member subscriptions to Context Context is available to corporate bodies at an annual subscription rate, including postage, of: United Kingdom £60.00 Elsewhere £90.00 Context on-line archive Past issues of Context can be viewed on the IHBC website. The archive provides a searchable database and reference for key articles. See www.ihbc.org.uk/page55/ context_archive. The views expressed in Context are not necessarily held by the IHBC or the publisher. Neither the publisher nor the IHBC shall be under any liability whatsoever in respect of contributed articles. We gratefully acknowledge the support of firms whose advertisements appear throughout this publication.While every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this issue of Context is current and correct, neither the IHBC nor the publisher can be held responsible for any errors or omissions which may occur. Briefing Context themes and copy deadlines Context is published five times a year, in March, May, July, September and November. The next three themes and copy deadlines are: Northern Europe , November, issue 157 (14 Sept) Highlands & Islands , March, issue 158 (11 January) Building Services May, issue 159 (13 April) Please contact Michael Taylor at ihbceditorialboard@gmail.com to discuss any editorial submissions or for information about the Context editorial board. 2 C O N T E X T 1 5 6 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 8 Call for evidence on energy performance certificates As the STBA notes: ‘The EPC is not a substitute for an energy audit and can only be useful as part of an enhanced homeowner’s report for the individual property. This would include assessment of the building type, condition and risk factors, as well as a step- by-step retrofit/refurbishment plan – going into the future.’ Similar concerns among major landlords are highlighted in the Better Buildings Partnership’s Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards and Heritage properties: mitigating risks through the procurement and interpretation of energy performance certificates (May 2018) www. betterbuildingspartnership.co.uk/ sites/default/files/media/attachment/ BBP_Heritage%20EPC_Insight.pdf Despite all the sector’s efforts over the last seven years, traditional buildings are still barely mentioned, if at all, in government policy initiatives, while industry and other lobbies are pushing to make the Clean Growth Strategy targets statutory. That is why this consultation is a vital and unique opportunity for organisations and individuals involved with traditional buildings to raise the issues with the government. We need as many responses as possible. I urge every reader to respond, and to spread the word to others (including building owners and amenity societies). John Preston, green panel convenor, IHBC, and heritage chair, STBA John Preston writes : In July the government (BEIS and MHCLG) launched a Call for Evidence on energy performance certificates (EPCs), with responses required by 19 October https://assets.publishing. service.gov.uk/government/ uploads/system/uploads/ attachment_data/file/729853/ epcs-call-for-evidence.pdf. EPCs are matters of the utmost importance because: a) the government’s Clean Growth Strategy is underpinned by the extended use of EPCs. The strategy aims for homes in the private rented sector and all fuel-poor homes to be upgraded to EPC Band C by 2030 and sets an aspiration for as many homes as possible to be upgraded to Band C by 2035. b) Since April 2018 residential and commercial landlords are required by law to improve the energy performance of buildings they let to a minimum standard based on EPC ratings. c) The government’s strategy is severely flawed, because EPCs in their present form do not work for older and traditional buildings, which make up at least 25 per cent and up to 35 per cent of the existing building stock. See the Sustainable Traditional Buildings Alliance’s (STBA) scoping study EPCs and the Whole-house Approach (July 2018) commissioned by Historic England and the National Trust http://files. site-fusion.co.uk/e8/8e/e88ebac9- 50d6-4710-8fea-0d39e46bcadd.pdf.