Grand Designs Extras Green Shoots campaign

Date Published:

06/08/2009

We’ve delivered 7,500 signatures to Downing Street in support of our Great British Refurb campaign, and got Kevin McCloud and politicians to show their playful side along the way. But the fight has just begun

Who said politicians are a bunch of boring suits? On 14 July, their playful side came to the fore as they donned hard hats and helped Kevin McCloud insulate a model home outside the Houses of Parliament, in support of our Great British Refurb campaign.

First, in a welcome show of support from the Government, came Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change. Then came housing minister John Healey, followed by the boys in blue – Tories Greg Clark, Shadow Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Greg Barker, Shadow Climate Change Minister, and Charles Hendry, Shadow Minister for Energy.

Finally Simon Hughes, the Lib Dems’ Shadow Energy and Climate Change Secretary, showed up, posed for his photo and disappeared with a quip at the current government: ‘They’re 20 years too late, but better late than never!’ He was referring to the Government’s eagerly awaited energy white paper, which was published the next day, setting out plans for a low-carbon UK. And the good news is that it matches our Great British Refurb campaign, with its support for tackling the poor energy efficiency of existing housing stock. For example, the Government will now trial a ‘pay as you save’ scheme, where householders will pay to install energy-saving measures over a longer period of time rather than upfront.

Once the work is done, the home will be much more energy efficient, which means much lower energy use and lower bills. The savings on these bills will then be used to repay the cost of carrying out the original energy-saving measures. Plus from next April, a ‘clean energy cashback scheme’ will be launched where householders will be paid for selling clean energy – such as that from solar photovoltaics or wind power – back to the National Grid. The price per unit has yet to be set and is key to making green energy popular. Without a sufficient return on investment, there’s not sufficient incentive. To make sure it’s set at a fair price, sign up to the We Support Solar campaign (wesupportsolar.net).

Still, even with the support of MPs for our campaign, plus the 7,500 signatures that we delivered to Downing Street on 16 July, there’s more to be done. TV presenter, writer and eco designer Oliver Heath, who is one of those 7,500 signatories, says: ‘When I talk to people about being greener, they all agree – but they’re not doing it. We have to work out what the barriers are; how we can make our homes more energy efficient. I feel the Government should be doing more, offering subsidies to make it easier. A campaign like this raises awareness, which is great.’

So please continue to support Grand Designs Magazine, WWF, the Energy Saving Trust and UK Green Building Council in our campaign. If you haven’t signed up yet, visit www.greatbritishrefurb.co.uk. Our fight to make green refurbishments easier and more affordable has only just begun.

This campaign update is taken from the September issue of Grand Designs magazine. If you would like to subscribe for as little as £9 then head here to find out more.

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