The Passivhaus Trust is calling for Scottish Government to stick to its commitment for a Scottish Passivhaus Equivalent Policy for all new build homes, in light of the fact that ministers recently scrapped their target to cut carbon emissions by 75% by 2030.
Scottish Government had previously said it would pass subordinate legislation to introduce a new minimum environmental design standards for new housing. This will create a national Scottish equivalent to the Passivhaus standard for all new builds, which, the Passivhaus Trust states, would cut heating demand in new homes by 79%.
The Passivhaus Trust call to government comes in light of pressure from mainstream house builders who are calling for a review of the plans.
Data for 2023 showed that completions across all sectors fell by 11% in 2023 in Scotland, while starts fell by 24%, figures that indicate the size of the crisis.
The Passivhaus Trust maintains that improving energy efficiency standards will not adversely affect housing delivery, but will dramatically improve the quality of the homes delivered. It estimates that building to Passivhaus will create additional initial costs of between 4-8%, which will come down with economies of scale.
However, it does conceded that the new build market is operating in difficult conditions, and is consequently proposing a transition period for the new policy to come into force.
Passivhaus is an international energy performance standard based around reducing the requirement for space heating and cooling of new homes. Collectively, buildings contribute 35% of total global energy consumuption, and Passivhaus is a solution for this.
Adopting a Passivhaus approach means a fabric-first solution that plans for your homes build fabric and energy usage – something that many self builders adopt. Not everyone building to these principles opts to have their home approved as meeting the Passivhaus Standard – find out more on the Passivhaus Trust’s website about what this means for you on your project.
Words & Image: Duncan Hayes
Rowallan Castle Estate is offering the opportunity to live and custom build with Cherish Homes in the grounds of the castle, which is also home to the 18-hole golf course.
There are two main opportunities – exclusive plots that even come with golf club membership at Fairview, or a choice of plots at Stable Fields. All homes are contracted to NaCSBA member Dan-Wood House, with a choice of pre-agreed designs to customise, with sustainability at the heart of every home.
Every house has been designed to be highly energy efficient, with a range of measures designed to achieve a ‘B’ energy rating.
The planning permission on plots available for custom building allow residents to customise the pre-agreed design, to create a layout and interior that suits their requirements.
The homes at Fairview on the estate offer a truly Grand Designs-style vision, with spacious plots laid out in clusters of homes in the wooded grounds. Buyers can either chose to have their luxury eco home built out as designed, or they can purchase as a custom build opportunity with the ability to customise the Dan-Wood House-built homes to suit their needs.
Only a limited number of plots remain on the market in cluster A and C, which will be home to five and eight homes respectively when built out.
Cherish is currently constructing a show home (see images) of the Newton design for people to visit, with an open day on the Easter weekend. Booking is essential and needs to be on the website.
There are 36 fully serviced plots at Stable Fields on Rowallan Castle Estate ranging from 0.1 to 0.28 acres, for houses with planning for 1,550 sq ft to 3,750 sq ft. The wide variety means that there is a choice of house sizes to suit a range of budgets and needs, offering 3, 4, 5 or 6 double bedrooms.
Buyers will work with the site’s architect to design their ideal layout plan, whether that involves a live-work space, open-plan or segregated living spaces or a downstair bedroom and wetroom.
The island community of Raasay is welcoming the start of a new development that offers much needed local housing, with a start on a site of five community-led and five affordable self build plots. The combination of house types and tenures offers a solution to housing for rural communities that could be replicated elsewhere.
With support from the Communities Housing Trust, the Raasay Development Trust is leading the project and will ultimately manage the three community-owned homes for affordable rent, with the other two community homes available for social rent with Lochalsh & Skye Housing Association.
The remaining five affordable self-build plots will be discounted with the Rural Housing Burden, which is unique to Scotland, which guarantees affordability in perpetuity as it controls future sales linked to the local community. The plots are also smaller than open-market plots, which also helps with affordability.
The community-owned site was purchased by the Trust with funding from the Scottish Land Fund in 2020, with further key funding from the Scottish Government’s Rural & Islands Housing Fund, and Ecology Building Society, who may also be able to provide mortgages for the self-build homes.
Like many rural communities, Raasay has seen an increase in demand for affordable housing, and this solution provide valuable new homes to meet this need, for people with a link or need to live on the island.
Anyone interested in the plots should register with the Communities Housing Trust, with the Raasay Development Trust managing the allocations process, and the Trust also recommends those in housing need to register with the Highland Housing Register.
Chair of Raasay Development Trust, Iain Hector Ross, said: “Raasay has a clear and present need for new affordable housing stock to meet the growing demand from young islanders choosing to stay and others wanting to move to the island for increasing work opportunities.
“We are fortunate that the island is enjoying an era of growing economic confidence and opportunity, where young people now see a long-term future for themselves here. Quality housing is vital to support that future and we hope that the delivery of these new homes is just the first step towards providing every young islander with an affordable option.”
Jon Lee, community housing lead at Ecology Building Society, said: “We’re excited once again to work alongside the other funders to support this development on Raasay. Providing funding for affordable, energy efficient, community-led housing and to encourage sustainable self-build particularly chimes with our mission to build a greener society.”
Image: Raasay Development Trust director Ali MacInnes marks the start on site
Scotland is leading the way in the UK with a trailblazing piece of legislation that requires all new homes to meet a new Scottish passive standard by 2024, including owner-commissioned or self build homes.
Similar to the Passivhaus Standard, the new regulations set a minimum standard for environmental design standards, meaning all new build homes must meet set levels of airtightness, insulation and energy standards.
Doing this will offer a better lived experience for residents, delivering high levels of thermal performance and energy efficiency that should help manage energy costs, as well as meet wider climate challenges.
The change is set out in the new Domestic Building Environmental Standards Bill, and it is expected that secondary legislation will be passed in Scotland to ensure the standard is being me by 2024.
Alex Rowley MSP introduced the change through a private member’s bill calling for all new housing to meet Passivhaus standard, or a Scottish equivalent, a direct response to the Scottish Climate Assembly Recommendations for Action around homes.
Jon Bootland, CEO, Passivhaus Trust said, “It is a truly forward-thinking approach by the Scottish Government and a positive response to the 2021 Scottish Climate Assembly recommendations.
“They are to be applauded for taking this crucial step towards meeting their Net Zero/ Climate Emergency goals. Now we must ensure that the Bill is well developed and implemented to deliver the greatest impact on the actual performance of new homes in Scotland.”
Self builders in Scotland need to be quick if they’re hoping to apply for the Self Build Loan Fund, which closes on the 31 August 2022.
Administered by the Communities Housing Trust (CHT) on behalf of the Scottish Government, the fund is designed to support self or custom builders, allowing them to finance the construction of their new home up to a maximum of £175,000.
In March 2021, Scottish government extended the Fund for another year to allow for the inevitable delays brought on by the pandemic and its impacts on labour and materials. At the same time it boosted the fund by £2 million.
The fund was launched on 1 September 2018 and is open to applications from individuals who have been unable to secure self-build mortgage finance from the mainstream market for their project, but are in the position that they can repay the loan by 31 August 2023.
To date, the fund has financed the projects of 40 families and individuals in 13 local authority areas: Aberdeenshire, Argyll & Bute, East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire, Falkirk, Highland, South Lanarkshire, Orkney, Perth & Kinross, Scottish Borders, Shetland, Stirling and the Western Isles, with more to come.
In February 2021 the CHT created a short briefing paper about the impact of the fund, which you can see here and captured in the infograhpic below.
This reflected growing demand for the Self-Build Loan Fund, with increasing interest over 2020, rising by 153%.
Main image: Image by Sharon Ang from Pixabay
The National Custom and Self Build Association (NaCSBA) is running a survey of Self Builders who have reclaimed Value Added Tax (VAT) on their project. It is calling for anyone who has built or commissioned their own home in the last five years to fill in the survey, anonymously, as gathering this data helps it establish the size of the sector.
This data, together with other information, such as the number of single dwellings created per year, this gives us an estimate of the number of self builders in the country.
Knowing how many people are self building in the UK is vital for NaCSBA, as it shares these figures with the wider industry, and more importantly, with Government, helping fuel the conversation about creating more Custom and Self Build opportunities for more people across the UK. The more people that are building, the more new opportunities will come on the market.
From 2019 calculating the size of the sector will be easier, as there is now a question on the form that you must submit for planning permission (1APP), that will help gather this data. However, for earlier years we need to compile this data retrospectively – which you can help with.
Please help others who want to self build by filling in the survey, or by sharing it with friends and associates. If you have self built, custom built, commissioned a new home or converted a building into a home, then we want to know how you reclaimed your VAT.
The survey is anonymous – it’s just nine questions, but it makes a huge difference to the work we do as an organisation, helping us to make custom build and self build more of a mainstream choice for more people.
Thank you!
Image: DHayes
Self and Custom Builders building in Scotland have a new resource in the recently launched Scotland Self and Custom Build Portal. Like NaCSBA’s Self Build Portal, the site provides advice, guidance and support for anyone wanting to build in Scotland.
The Portal was created thanks to the Self and Custom Build Housing Pilot Challenge Fund, which was launched by Scottish Government to test new models for growing the sector north of the border. Specifically, the Challenge Fund aimed to support new routes and models for anyone wanting to Self Build in Scotland, including alternative finance options, which would also create more opportunities for the companies servicing the sector, such as small building firms.
The Highlands Small Communities Housing Trust (HSCHT) submitted an application for the Challenge Fund with its idea of creating a new dedicated portal for Scotland, to offer support and advice around the Scottish context for Custom and Self Builders. The HSCHT have previously supported a range of Self Build projects and created new finance models to make Self Build more accessible.
Like NaCSBA’s Self Build Portal, the Scottish portal offers support and advice tailored to Scotland’s devolved laws, giving insight into the local situation, including legislation, finance and Scottish plots. An interactive ‘Getting Started’ tool also gives would-be-builders a ready reckoner of costs depending on the amount of work they’re prepared to do themselves.
Its plot service offers a route to land for anyone looking to build, as well as a service for landowners to advertise their land in Scotland.
