UK timber trade organisation Timber Development UK has welcomed Government commitment to encourage application of wood in building to help meet the country’s housing shortage and reduce construction’s environmental impact.

What it describes as ‘ambitious new plans to increase use of timber in construction’ were announced by UK Environment Minister Mary Creagh at the Timber in Construction (TiC) Summit in London at the end of February. She said the goal was to boost the domestic timber industry, support economic growth, create rural jobs and meet housebuilding targets – and the government target is for 1.5 million new dwellings to be built in the next five years.

Details were also given of a new version of the UK’s Timber in Construction Roadmap, developed with industry and government input, which further outlines priorities and key actions for the building sector. These include encouraging the use of sustainable, low carbon building materials, and ensuring carbon emissions are considered during the design, construction and use of buildings.

Some key additions to the Roadmap include a greater acknowledgement of the importance of timber reuse and species diversification, as well as actions to strengthen the impact and accountability of Government to the Roadmap.

These include:

Exploration of the use of Government buying standards to encourage use of sustainable, low

Government and industry working with academia and the Building Safety Regulator to research outstanding safety, durability, and competency questions towards closing the evidence and competence gaps of engineered mass timber over the next five years.

Also at the summit, industry leaders renewed their call on the Government to introduce embodied carbon regulation in construction. This would comprise, Part-Z, an industryproposed amendment, made to UK Building Regulations.

It would involve mandatory Whole Life Carbon Assessments for building, along with a clear timeline and targets for reducing emissions, ‘to help create a push toward low-carbon materials and improve the sustainability of the built environment’.

(Source: Itto/Fordaq)