6 CONTEXT 177 : SEPTEMBER 2023 and events. These will be vital to its income but it would involve secondary glazing to the stainedglass windows. Were the heritage authorities ready to even consider this yet, Stratford asked, when the cathedral was still in discussions about whether it could have a glazed draughtproofing screen to one of its entrance doors? Hedley responded that Historic England was promoting England’s historic buildings as part of the solution to the climate emergency, and that architects and conservationists alike were good at managing change. She accepted that the planning system, as it stood, could make this difficult, but that advice on mitigation and adaptation to help tackle the climate emergency was imminent. She said that Historic England believed that every building could be made more energy efficient but acknowledged that this could be uncomfortable for some conservationists. She likened the need for change to the previous generation’s, largely successful, drive for equality of access into historic buildings. Jane Entwistle, recent past president of the Institute of Structural Engineers, gave a perspective from other climates where resilience against increased wind and rain are the challenge. The UK’s buildings, including Chester Cathedral, were also being adapted to cope with heavier summer downpours, a tangible result of climate change. News from the front line came from Sophie Norton of the Carbon Co-op. She described an inspiring community based project in Levenshulme, Manchester, where traditionally built houses are taking a ‘fabric first, whole house approach’ to insulate, draughtproof and secondary double glaze family homes. Norton explained that in addition to the lack of any financial assistance, the real challenge was training operatives and installers within the PAS2035 model, but that the co-op was delivering its target of a minimum EPC ‘C’ rating for traditionally built buildings. The danger of historic buildings being stranded by their inability to gain viable EPC ratings for the rental market was one of the drivers behind the current Grosvenor and Insall research project in rural Cheshire. Joby Howard, Grosvenor’s director of buildings services, explained the group’s published commitment to meeting the climate challenge. He said that Grosvenor had collaborated with Donald Insall Associates on a rural property, which was currently under construction, following detailed research and analysis. This was a pilot project to inform how their rural estate could both meet the climate challenge and maintain economic viability. The design options had been carefully assessed against climate impact, cost, buildability and attraction to the rental market. Insall’s analysis had been aided by Diane Hubbard of Green Footprint. She explained the iniquities of the current EPC system but said that the project was showing a 65 per cent improvement in carbon emissions, which was increased to 85 per cent if embedded carbon were to be added for the lifespan of the house. Hubbard summarised that: • EPC assessments were not fit for purpose. • In-situ tests proved that historic buildings performed better than expected from U-value calculations. • Training and improving installer skills were key factors for success. • The research project showed that the commercial aspects could be met. Tenants had already signed up for the house and would contribute to the monitoring of the project and aid further research. Grosvenor and Insall have also collaborated on policy issues. Insall’s Cordula Zeidler, practice director and historic building consultant, gave advice on how policy and regulation interacted and conflicted. She asked how policy guidance could be followed in practice to meet the UK’s climate targets, and whether low carbon mitigation measures were defined as ‘harm’ in the National Planning Policy Framework. Zeidler pointed out that Chester Cathedral had installed photovoltaic panels and that Kings College Chapel, Cambridge, also had consent, despite opposition from the conservation authorities. Heritage partnership agreements and local listed building consent orders were good tools to enable consents for the necessary improvement to historic buildings. The skills of architects working with conservation officers and Historic England, within an agreed statutory framework, could enable listed buildings more easily to meet the challenges of the climate emergency. This was now a standard procedure, in Kensington and Chelsea, for example, and Zeidler asked that professionals listen to the strong public feeling for thermal improvements and carbon mitigation to be made easier to achieve. Max Fordham’s Gwilym Still gave a technical briefing on what current technologies could offer in changing older buildings, including mitigation of overheating in summer. He stressed the need for careful research and modelling, allied to basic building maintenance. Great strides had been made in air handling in recent years. Still demonstrated how space heating could run at lower temperatures and explained the factors to be considered when specifying heat pump technology. As well as paying for high quality design, clients must be thoroughly trained on how to properly control their systems. The panel summed up the conference’s key points for government: • totally revise the EPC system • align the planning system to sensitive climate-change mitigation through the NPPF • invest in bridging the skills gap • give financial incentive by abolishing or reducing VAT on thermal improvements to traditional buildings.
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