New homes must be ready for challenge of our climate

June 2026

If we must have more new houses built, then they should be mainly affordable new homes that are also affordable to heat. This has become more of an issue since the Middle East war drove up the prices of energy.

After a frustrating ten-year delay, a policy gap was filled when the UK Government recently published the long-awaited Future Homes Standard. This aims to ensure that all new homes will have reduced energy bills whilst producing significantly lower carbon emissions by mandating solar panels and heat pumps for most new houses.

The Standard will legally come into force on 24 March 2027. However, a requirement for homes to be delivered in line with the Standard has been delayed to 2028 to allow the industry to transition to the new requirements. This is much later than it should be - but is progress, nevertheless. Homes with energy running costs that are affordable over the lifetime of the property should be our aim, especially in a world where energy security matters more than ever. Every year of delay will see homes built to the standards of the past, not the future.

It is worth remembering that the low carbon economy is worth more than £100bn a year to the UK, according to a new report from CBI Economics, (commissioned by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit). This shows the benefits of providing clean energy and decarbonisation technologies include emerging businesses, better skills and higher wages whilst users benefit from solar panels, home insulation, electric vehicles and lower costs. This finding aligns with previous reports that found the net zero economy was growing three times faster than the rest of the UK economy.

Here in Stratford district, we have seen investment in local businesses moving into or growing the low carbon economy. At the local Stratford College we are seeing young people receive skills training in the new technologies of the future. Last year SDC used UK Shared Prosperity funding to support an electric vehicle training space that equips learners with the expertise needed for modern automotive careers. This year a Heat Pump Training Centre, funded by the Local Skills Improvement Fund, has been opened. We need these initiatives to bring down costs, improve homes, and support local businesses with well-paid, skilled jobs.

The Climate Change Committee also produced a Report in May 2026 that states that ‘The UK was built for a climate that no longer exists today and will be increasingly distant in years to come’. We can’t get away from the realisation that the UK has been warming faster than the global average with four of the last five years in the UK's top five warmest on record.

According to a recent Met Office's State of the UK Climate report, the number of days in the UK with temperatures above 28C has more than doubled and the number of days with temperatures above 30C has more than trebled in the most recent decade, compared with the 1961-1990 average. We are also seeing fluctuations from dry to wet periods and back again.

Adapting now will cost the UK less than dealing with the damages and disruption from climate change, but we need Government to create the policy environment. We also need financial incentives and information to allow local government, businesses and households to protect their futures.