BWEA letter to the Guardian in defence of the Merton Rule

"Paul King (letters 6th September) should really know better. It is truly disappointing to see that the "UK Green Building Council" of all bodiesbelieves that the "Merton rule" as adopted by the GLA, four Englishregions, and over 170 local planning authorities delivers "potentially little or no reduction in carbon emissions." Where is his evidence forthat extraordinary assertion?

The first small step towards the Government's proposals to deliver Zero
Carbon Homes in 2016 is the "Merton rule" which requires new developments to source a proportion of their energy needs from on-siterenewables.  This policy is far from being a rigid requirement, indeedmany developers have exceeded the minimum 10% CO2 reduction requirement hrough the deployment of energy efficiency and renewable energytechnologies, BOTH of which are encouraged by the Merton Rule.

The climate change challenge requires that we maximise the contribution from energy efficiency, low carbon and renewable energy technologiesthrough the planning system where it is viable to do so. To her credit, that has been Housing Minister Yvette Cooper's consistent message to our members and beyond, including her very positive support to date for the Merton rule.

Rather than seek to undermine a proven, practical yet modest onsite renewables planning policy which has been supportedthroughout previous consultation, the UK Green Building Council shouldbe joining with us to celebrate its success and to ensure that it is enshrined in the new Government Climate Change Policy Planning Statementexpected later this year."

Alex Murley
Small-Systems Manager
BWEA