Low Carbon Economy - Sustainable Housing Action Programme (SHAP)
Low Carbon Economy - Sustainable Housing Action Programme (SHAP)
Organisations involved
Lead partner - Sustainability West Midlands. Supporting partners - Energy Saving Trust, Energy Office, RegenWM, Advantage West Midlands, Regional Assembly, Government Office, Wates, Accord Housing, Birmingham Science City, ReNEW
Summary
The problem being addressed - how can the region's new and existing housing be low carbon by 2016?
In 2005 Sustainability West Midlands through its work with the Regional Housing Partnership identified the above problem and as a result the Regional Housing Strategy recognized the need to "..provide examples of best practice in sustainable housing.." and SHAP was born.
The aim of SHAP is to demonstrate how, through the promotion of existing best practice, high specification energy efficiency and renewable energy measures could be mainstreamed into existing regional housing new build and refurbishment programmes.
The programme usually takes the format of a particular research topic each year that is led by Sustainability West Midlands, then developed by a cross-sector partnership of social and private housing providers, planners and policy makers, with a dissemination event and subsequent implementation.
Update on the progress of the project
SHAP 1 2005-2006
Sustainability West Midlands worked with the SHAP partners to run a series of events showcasing existing local and national good practice and identifying barriers to these being mainstreamed. The final event hosted by ReNEW identified the planning system as a key barrier and opportunity to the uptake of good practice.
SHAP 2 2006-2007
Sustainability West Midlands worked with the SHAP partners to identify good practice within the development cycle and planning system to produce guidance to planners in promoting good practice in low carbon housing through policies and development control. This work was launched in 2007 with the Warwickshire Climate Change Partnership and ReNEW.
See the report ' Planning for Low Carbon Housing' which was also used to inform the input into the review of the Regional Spatial Strategy.
SHAP 3 2007-8
Sustainability West Midlands worked with the SHAP partners to build on the previous good practice and planning guide to set out a clear policy statement of the type of vision, examples and steps required to get to the goal of low carbon new build housing by 2016 and a rolling programme of refurbishment.
See the report ' West Midlands Framework for Low Carbon Housing Planning' which was also used to inform the input into the review of the Regional Spatial Strategy and Economic Strategy which has been widely used by other regions.
SHAP progress 2008-9
The Regional Assembly and Advantage West Midlands led the work with Sustainability West Midlands and the SHAP partners on taking the retrofit challenge set out in the previous year, and creating a baseline of retrofit measures across the region to identify progress and the most cost effective interventions.
See the report ' Low Carbon housing retrofit baseline study'
SHAP 4 2009-10
The SWM Sustainable Housing Action Programme was set up as a seperate project by SWM members. A company established and the Sustainable Housing Action Partnership was born. SWM maintains its strong support for this activity through our membership of the SHAP Board and other joint working activities.
SHAP 4 was led by Accord Housing and involved Sustainability West Midlands and the other SHAP partners. This work focused on how to develop an agreed standard for the retrofit of social housing to the 'decent home standard' that also addresses carbon reduction issues set out in the previous SHAP work.
After the City Region leaders summit we have been working with SHAP and our Green New Deal work to look at addressing future funding issues for retrofit.
(This activity delivers our Business Plan objective 2.5 support the Sustainable Housing Action Programme)
Links and contact information
Email us at enquiries@swm.org.uk if you would like more information or visit the new SHAP website.