The housebuilding sector is at a pivotal position in Scotland’s green recovery and sustainable development ambitions. The Scottish Government has set out its goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2045, with an interim target of a 75 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030.

Meanwhile, the demand for new houses is placing a strain on smaller housebuilders that are already suffering the pressures of the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, new regulations announced by the Scottish Government last year aim to ensure that all new-build homes have either renewable or low carbon heating systems by 2024. 


It’s a landscape with which Judith Stephenson is very familiar: as a real estate partner at Shepherd and Wedderburn, the largest Scottish-headquartered UK law firm, Stephenson acts for local authorities and public and private sector bodies on numerous property and infrastructure transactions, specialising in residential development and site assembly.


She notes that, particularly in the past 12 months, the need for the industry to become more adept at installing the apparatus and infrastructure to help achieve targets regarding green and clean energy, and that public demand has risen to an all-time high.


Stephenson concedes though that there is a certain tension between aspiration and achievement: “We see the challenges that private developers confront in terms of build efficiency and also having to meet the requirements that councils are placing on them regarding planning consent.


“Equally, we understand local authorities’ and Registered Social Landlords’ (RSL) drive to implement the Scottish Government’s policies on low emissions, fuel poverty and energy efficiency. Also, private sector developers need to be incentivised to meet the policies and objectives regarding carbon emissions and sustainable living because, while the government is promoting very positive policies, how practical is their implementation with the design, structures and infrastructures that we have at the moment, taking into account that most of these systems are pretty new?” 


Fuel poverty is high on the government Scottish Government’s agenda and Stephenson says that with affordability and reliability at the heart of the overarching proposal to hit zero carbon targets, district heating represents a big tick in the box. While some housebuilders have been reluctant to take this route, the Heat Networks (Scotland) Bill is currently making its way through the Scottish Parliament and aims to ameliorate the risks of investing in a previously unregulated network. 


While there are successful examples in other parts of Europe, with district heating networks supplying around 65 per cent of the housing stock in Copenhagen, new technology also poses some concerns for householders. “There will inevitably be questions over reliability,” says Stephenson. 


“What happens when something goes wrong on Christmas morning and there is no heating – who do I phone and who has the expertise to resolve the problem? Also, we don’t know how much this heating pump is going to cost to maintain or what its lifespan will be. Plus, we still need electricity to run all of these processes.” 


While there is significant buy-in to the ethos and ambition of driving down carbon emissions and fuel poverty in Scotland, Stephenson believes that this must be seen as a long game, one that will not necessarily result in a quick return.  
“The messaging must be realistic; for instance, if you install solar panels in your house, you can’t expect to see a drop in your energy costs during the first six to 12 months. People’s expectations must be managed as to what is required of them to achieve these targets, but I think we are starting to work effectively toward that and we are certainly seeing an increase in the number of solar panels appearing on the roofs of many more houses.”


Housebuilders also have a crucial and now more urgent role to play in the installation of electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure, given the Scottish Government’s intention to phase out new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2032. 
“Car charging points are certainly also high up on the Government’s agenda and councils are taking a variety of approaches when granting planning consent,” says Stephenson. 


“In the main, we’re seeing councils taking the view that all new sites coming through the process need to make provision for car charging points, based on the assumption that we will all be driving either hybrid or electric cars in the next 10 to 15 years and that those are critical in new developments.”


EV charging points, she adds, also present their own challenges because occupants need to have access to a relatively heavy electricity supply and providing, for example, 15 charging points in a building will have an impact on their electricity costs. With building and construction responsible for an estimated 39 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, however, the direction of travel is clear and unavoidable. 


“Both developers and owners are increasingly keen on achieving low carbon emissions and energy efficient homes. I think everybody is making big strides towards that, but I suspect the way we build houses in future will change, because there will have to be some level of offset to accommodate the costs of the sustainability we are aiming for,” concludes Stephenson. 

Brought to you in association with Shepherd and Wedderburn