Last week, I looked at the progress on sustainability in Wales. This week, I’d like to focus on three keys areas that may develop differently in England and Wales, as the devolved legislation affecting sustainable construction continues to develop, before considering how Welsh businesses are reacting to the changes.
The three areas I want to highlight are:
- Waste.
- PPPs.
- Building Regulations.
Waste
The WAG has developed its own waste strategy. On 22 February 2010, it published the Waste (Wales) Measure, which seeks to implement powers to:
- Adopt more sustainable waste management practices.
- Ban or restrict certain materials from landfill.
- Set statutory targets for Welsh local authorities for recycling and composting of municipal waste.
- Introduce Site Waste Management Plans (SWMPs) for construction sites in Wales.
The last item will bring Wales into line with England but, given the WAG’s ambitions on sustainability, it’s likely that the landfill bans and restrictions will be ahead of their English counterparts.
Public Private Partnerships (PPPs)
Part 8 of the LDEDC 2009 will amend Part II of the “old” Construction Act 1996. When the LDEDC Act 2009 comes into force it will affect all construction contracts in England, Wales and Scotland.
The Construction Act 1996 and related statutory instruments included certain exclusions, which remain outside the scope of the Act. For example, a development agreement that transfers ownership of land or project agreement under a PPP.
Although the Westminster Government has not announced any intention to change the current position on exclusions, a new section (106A) will be introduced into the Construction Act 1996, which will allow the WAG (and the Scottish Executive) to issue their own exclusion orders, or not issue an exclusion order that may already have been issued in England.
Will this result in a divergence in the already complicated definitions of construction contracts and operations? Watch this space…
Building regulations
In November 2009, the powers to make building regulations for buildings in Wales were transferred to the WAG with effect from 31 December 2011. The WAG is currently drafting the new (Welsh) building regulations which will supersede the Building Regulations 2010 for projects in Wales. It has already indicated that these regulations will focus on improving and making greater use of:
- Fabric performance.
- Natural ventilation.
- Heat recovery.
- Renewable energy generation.
- Energy efficient lighting.
How far the Welsh regulations will differ from their English counterparts – and the cost implications of them – remains to be seen. If, as predicted, they are pushing the boundaries on carbon reduction then cost may be a big issue.
The future implications for Wales
The WAG’s extension of environmental and sustainability criteria for development remains controversial and is seen by many in Wales as putting a further strain on a construction industry already struggling to cope with the current difficult economic conditions. But there is an element of excitement too at the positive desire for a changed environment. We can all learn from the industry’s experiences in Wales as it leads the market in terms of the sustainability agenda.
And no doubt England will catch up in due course.
