About these pages
On these pages, you will find advice to owners of existing homes, local shops and other similar buildings on how best to help combat climate change. This includes actions on:
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Climate Change MITIGATION – reducing carbon emissions from buildings to reduce their contribution to climate change
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Climate Change ADAPTATION – altering our homes and environment, so that they are better suited to the changes in climate which are already happening.
Why is this important?
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At least 80% of the buildings which will exist in 2050 have already been built. The government has set a target for the country to reach net zero carbon emissions by then. Existing buildings will therefore need to reduce their carbon emissions in the next 25 years, if we are to reach this target. At the same time, they will also need to adapt to suit the climate we expect to have in 2050 – including hotter, drier summers and wetter winters.
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Most existing buildings are heated using mains gas, which generates greenhouse gas emissions. These will eventually need to switch to low carbon alternatives for heating and cooking – but before they do, many will benefit from improved energy efficiency, to ensure they remain affordable to heat.
Hounslow Council encourages all property owners in the borough to improve the energy efficiency of their homes and businesses, and also to prepare them for higher temperatures and increased rainfall. There are currently no obligations on the owners of homes and businesses to make such changes to properties which you use yourself, unless you are undertaking significant works. However, if you do, you could benefit from:
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Reduced running costs
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Improved comfort and well-being
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Increased property value
Minimum energy efficiency standards may apply if you rent out a home or other building, and these are likely to be further tightened in future years. Further national and local policies are also likely to come forward in future, to drive improvements in the energy performance of existing buildings.
What action can I take?
The following pages set out the options available to prepare their homes, along with advice on which of these measures may require planning approval and when planning approval may be granted. The actions which householders can take fall into four broad categories:
- Changes to your behaviour and how you use your home – to reduce energy demand by avoid unnecessary waste of heat and electricity
- Measures to increase energy efficiency – mainly by investing in loft, wall and floor insulation and replacing doors and windows
- Switching to efficient, low carbon sources of energy for heating, lighting and other uses
- Adapting our homes and gardens so that they can cope better with extreme weather such as heatwaves, droughts and torrential rain.
Do I need permission to make these improvements?
Works which do and do not need planning permission are defined in legislation. The more significant changes described in the following sections may require permission, particularly if they materially affect the external appearance of a building. There are some exceptions, such as works which are defined as ‘Permitted Development’ by the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2015 (as amended). Further information on whether this applies is included for the measures set out in the following sections.
The rules on when permission is required may be different for:
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Properties in Conservation Areas – some forms of Permitted Development are limited
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Listed Buildings – these can benefit from Permitted Development Rights, but require an additional form of application called Listed Building Consent for all works of demolition, alteration or extension that affect its character of special architectural or historic interest.
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Properties covered by an Article 4 direction - these may be assigned to properties of particular character and remove some Permitted Development Rights. Further details may be obtained from your Local Planning Authority.
Hounslow Local Plan Policy SC7 also requires that development proposals for residential extensions and alterations have regard to design standards and guidance set out in Supplementary Planning Documents. These include requirements relating to energy efficiency and renewable energy set out in the Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation SPD (expected to be adopted in 2024). Such proposals taken forward under permitted development rights are also encouraged to reflect the council’s policies and guidance in their designs.
If permission is required, then a planning application must be made to the planning department.
Further statutory permissions such as Building Regulations will also apply – these include the energy performance standards set out in Part L (2021) of the Building Regulations. Civil permissions, such as party wall agreements, may also be required.
