Stewart Milne welcomes energy target delay
4 October 2013Stewart Milne Timber Systems has backed moves by the Scottish government to delay the introduction of energy efficiency targets for the construction industry.
Scotland's Building Standards will require a 21% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions in new homes, a regulation it is estimated that will add many thousands of pounds to the cost of a new home.
The changes will come into force in October 2015, a year later than first intended.
Despite timber's advantages in sustainable building, Stewart Milne group managing director Alex Goodfellow said the company supported the delay as a means of nurturing a fragile recovery in housebuilding, rather than watching demand for all types of building systems collapse.
"While zero carbon remains firmly on the government's agenda the industry requires time to recover," he told TTJ.
"When all these regulations finally make their way through the system this will suit timber frame construction and will mean a greater rise in the use of timber frame. Housebuilders have been hit very hard in the downturn and the last thing they need at the moment is a massive rise in costs.
"Our Sigma system is used in private a public housing but it is not used widely because the regulations at the moment do not require it. As and when they do, we have it in place and we will win a greater share than we have in the past."
