October 23rd 2023
The built environment should be upgraded for ‘social and economic reasons’, says BESA president
Last week the president of the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) hosted a conference in London, where Claire Curran said the government need to prioritise the built environment.
Speaking at the opening of the conference, Clair Curran, president of BESA, claimed the built environment should be upgraded to work better for social and economic reasons, not just to meet climate change goals.
Ms Curran said: ‘It makes no difference that the government has got cold feet over its net zero timetable and the cost of vital infrastructure. We still have a built environment that is desperate for an upgrade.
‘We need to look no further than the ‘crumbly concrete’ scandal in schools and hospitals for proof that our existing building stock is not being properly maintained. Vital investment in refurbishment and retrofit has fallen so far behind the curve that many of our built assets are no longer fit for purpose.’
One example of this is in June 2023 it was announced that our current EPC system is no longer fit for heritage buildings, meaning many of our historical landmarks could be left to rot.
Against this backdrop, at the conference Ms Curran criticised two thirds of landlords who told a survey that they would rather sell their properties than pay for energy efficient improvements to meet EPC regulations, which were originally due to come into force in 2025 until the government pulled the plug on this target.
As well as better insulating homes, making a property more energy efficient can also help people save a lot of money in the long-run, which, as the cost-of-living continues to climb, is vital at the moment.
According to the government’s latest statistics 3.26 million households in England were living in fuel poverty in 2022 and therefore could not afford to heat their homes. Although the cost-of-living is slowly coming down, experts have theorised that people will experience a tough winter this year.
At the conference, Ms Curran said that if the government was serious about providing support for struggling households, then authorities should be working on creating a programme of building refurbishment and retrofit to reduce their energy bills.
Ms Curran said: ‘Whether you think net zero is achievable or not, making buildings better is surely a basic social responsibility.’
Image: ben o’bro
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