Calor accuses Government of disadvantaging rural Britain

2 February 2012

Calor Gas accuse Coalition's Building Regulation proposal of giving an unfair deal to rural communities.

At a House of Commons Reception last night, hosted by Calor Gas Ltd, and attended by leading policy holders, MPs and Peers, Paul Blacklock, Calor Gas’ Head of Strategy and Corporate Affairs, launched an attack on the Coaliton Government’s environmental policy, drawing attention to how it is disadvantaging rural Britain.

Calor Gas has seen at first hand how all too often those living in rural off-grid areas of Britain have been largely forgotten in the debate about energy and climate change. Whilst Calor welcomes the Green Deal and has already started to market renewable and insulation in readiness, they are concerned that the green polices do not suitably cater for rural requirements.
Calor are calling on the Government to redress the balance, particularly after the failed polices imposed by the previous Labour administration. For example,

Calor are concerned about the direction in which the Green Deal is moving, particularly with its emphasis on Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs).
Paul Blacklock said:

“Calor have been raising concerns about EPCs for over a decade. This is because they do not do what they say on the tin. They measure cost, not energy. As all off- grid energies are expensive it means that rural buildings will always score at least one or two levels less than if the same house was in the centre of Manchester.”

Such an emphasis essentially cuts off the countryside from the very schemes aimed at reducing energy costs and rural fuel poverty.

Calor also raised their concerns yesterday evening about the proposals contained within the Building Regulations Consultation launched on 31st January, by Andrew Stunell OBE MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.

Rural housing and construction is already under severe pressure. There is a widely acknowledged shortage of affordable housing in rural areas with a report from Halifax showing that house prices in the countryside are already 16% higher than in urban areas, with average property prices £27,000 higher than in cities. Developing affordable housing is a crucial factor in the economic and social strength of rural communities, and it is a major contributor to long-term community sustainability.

Paul added:

“We believe that the Government’s proposals to make further changes to the Building Regulations, through the possible removal of the Fuel Factor, will create additional barriers to rural growth by adding thousands of pounds more to the cost of building a house in the countryside. As such the removal of the fuel factor will hit the 5 million people who live in rural Britain very hard.

“We need to ensure a fair deal for energy in rural communities.”

To speak to Paul Blacklock, please contact Olivia Pay on 0207 591 9610 or at oliviap@blj.co.uk

---

Press releases, papers and documents published on this page are the intellectual property of an organisation unrelated to Central Lobby. We promote their parliamentary and political campaigning activities as they are subscribers to the Central Lobby service.

As such, Central Lobby does not edit, endorse, or attempt to balance the opinions expressed on this page. The content of press releases and other such types of content are the responsibility of the originating organisation.