CIH responds to Environmental Audit Committee report on housing growth

The Environmental Audit Committee has published the final report from its inquiry into environmental sustainability and housing growth.

The inquiry focused on how the government can achieve its target of building 1.5 million new homes this parliament while maintaining its commitments to protect the environment and meet statutory carbon budgets.

The final report cites CIH’s written evidence, and concludes that “a healthy environment is not a luxury but a necessity for resilient towns and neighbourhoods.” It also highlights skills shortages in the housing, construction, and planning sectors as a major barrier to the Government’s objectives.

"A welcome and rigorous report"

Commenting on the report, CIH head of policy and external affairs, Chloe Fletcher, said:

“We welcome much of this detailed, rigorous report from the Environmental Audit Committee on environmental sustainability and housing growth.

At the heart of the report is it’s the recognition that our homes can best provide a stable foundation for healthy living if they are climate-friendly, accessible, and embedded in green, flourishing communities and neighbourhoods. New homes must be fit for the future, and built in the right places, to the right standards.

Drawing on CIH’s written evidence to the inquiry, the report picks up on the critical barriers to achieving this at scale, especially the need to rapidly expand skills and career opportunities in housing, construction, and planning.

We are also pleased to see the emphasis the report places on embodied carbon and sustainable construction, a central challenge as we begin to build more housing and accelerate the retrofit, remediation, and refurbishment of existing homes.

Overall, CIH welcomes the recommendations set out by the committee and encourages the government to review them carefully ahead of finalising the Long-Term Housing Strategy and Planning and Infrastructure Bill.”

The Environmental Audit Committee’s report on environmental sustainability and housing growth can be accessed here.

CIH’s written evidence to the inquiry can be found here.