Cllr Tatler responds to challenge over Brent Council's support for tall residential blocks across the borough

 

Brent's Local Plan incudes designated areas for tall buildings as well as intensification corridors  based on the assumption that given the shortage of  land in the borough the only way to address the housing crisis is by building up and maximising high density housing on a small footprint. 

Shama Tatler, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Planningm recently short-listed to be Labour's parliamentary candidate for the Watford constituency, has been a strong advocate of such a response, even though Labour in Watford has campaigned against the Liberal Democrat Mayor's support for tall buildings.

Covid lockdown revealed problems over contagion of the virus in lifts, staircases and shared landings, as well as the lack of amenity space in which to get socially-distanced exercise in fresh air.

Problems were even worse for families with small children socially isolating in small flats, particularly on upper floors.

Alongside this has been the post-Grenfell cladding crisis which has plunged many into debt as well as anxiety, paying not only for repairs but also for fire-watches. People with disabilities have found themselves in the middle of conflicting advice over 'stay put' policies as well as the difference of opinion over the efficacy of PEEPs (Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans) supported by the London Fire Brigade but opposed by the government. Readers may recall the long-running saga of South Kilburn resident John Healy's attempts to get a PEEP from Brent Council.

Then there is of course the problem of the amount of truly affordable housing in new developments with Brent Council's insistence on terming Shared Ownership affordable. 

Finally academic reports question the energy efficiency of tall buildings when many local authorities, including Brent, have declared a Climate Emergency.

Not limited to tall buildings is the emerging issue of uncapped energy prices for residents whose homes are connected to a District Heating Network. Some relief was promised while all eyes were on Boris Johnson wriggling on a hook of hs own devising, when the government announced. 'We will ensure families living on Heat Networks are better protected. By appointing Ofgem as the new regulator for Heat Network in Great Britain, we will ensure customers get a fair price and a releaible source of heat.' 

Hear Martin Lewis' alarming Channel 4 piece on likely fuel bills in October HERE .

Whether this will be progressed amidst current political turmoil remains to be seen. The government has published a Fact Sheet HERE

It is against this background the the Liberal Democrat councillor for Alperton, Anton Georgiou, ask Shama Tatler a written question ahead of Monday's Council Meeting.

Readers can judge for themselves the adequacy of Cllr Tatler's written response and hear any further discussion on the Council's livestream starting at 6pm on Monday LINK:

 

Question from Councillor Georgiou to Councillor Tatler, Cabinet Member for Regeneration & Planning.

Five years on from the Grenfell Tower disaster, which highlighted to many the safety issues associated with tall buildings, developers with issues in their existing stock (including in Brent) continue to be let off the hook. With building regulations still nowhere near clear enough, what assurances can the Cabinet Members for Regeneration & Planning, give to residents that:

· Tall buildings are safe for local people?
· Tall buildings are suitable as family homes, particularly for young children?
· About the number of families (including how many) Brent currently place in
flats above the 5th floor?
· In view of the 2019 UCL (University College London) study into the energy efficiency of such buildings that allowing so many buildings, higher than 6 storeys, is not making the Climate Emergency in Brent much worse?

Response:

Safety of Tall buildings

The Building Safety Act 2022 contains a series of reforms to building safety and is the most substantial legislative response to the Grenfell Tower fire of 2017.

A Building Safety Regulator (BSR) has been established within the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Their role relates to buildings with 7 or more storeys or that are 18 metres high and have at least two residential units, or are hospitals or care homes. These are known as higher risk buildings (HRB).

The BSR is likely to rely relies (sic) on council building control services (and fire and rescue services) to deliver the building control regulations for HRBs, which is expected to involve multi-disciplinary teams.

The BSR has three main functions:

(1) To implement a new regulatory regime for higher-risk buildings, and
to be the building control authority for these buildings. This includes
building work on existing HRBs and enforcing the regime in terms of their occupation, as well as new HRBs. The BSR looks at all aspects of the Building Regulations not just fire related provisions. The BSR uses a multi- disciplinary team, which is likely to include local authority building control teams. There are three gateway points where details must be approved before progressing to the next stage:

· planning gateway (in place since August 2021); the planning application must demonstrate that fire safety requirements have been considered and incorporated into the construction proposals;

· construction – pre construction, the regulator must approve the design as compliant with the building regulations;

· completion – at pre-occupation stage, a completion certificate will only be issued by the BSR once they are satisfied that the work is complaint with the building regulations.

Only once Gateway three has been passed (either for partial or full completion) can the new building be registered with the Building Safety Regulator for occupation. The BSR will then be responsible for carrying out checks to ensure that the people responsible for managing HRB’s are managing Building Safety risks, complying with their duties and keeping residents safe through the Building Assessment Certificate process.

(2) To oversee the safety and performance of all buildings. This involves collecting data on the performance of local authority building control services, and external approved inspectors.
(3) To support the competence of those working in the built environment industry, and to manage the register of accredited building inspectors. This involves establishing an industry led competence committee and establishing competence requirements for building control professionals (who need to be in place when the system becomes operational). Brent Building Control will ensure it complies with the requirements.

The BSR will be responsible for holding local authorities and building inspectors to account, with the power to suspend or remove inspectors from the register where necessary.

The Fire Safety Act 2021 became law in April 2021. It introduced changes to fire safety law for buildings containing two or more sets of domestic premises in England and Wales. The aim of the Fire Safety Act is to clarify who is responsible for managing and reducing fire risks in different parts of multi occupied residential buildings. It has introduced new fire safety obligations to some leaseholders, building owners and managers for the building structure, external wall, common parts and doors between domestic premises and common parts.

Suitability of Tall buildings as family homes

Fire safety requirements are for all people and types of household not just families with young children. The above sets out details on the changes that are being implemented.

Number of families Brent currently place in flats above the 5th floor

According to our household records there are 179 children across 108 households living on the fifth floor or above. These 108 households sit across 31 blocks.

Energy efficiency of buildings and impact on Climate Emergency in Brent

 

Both the London Plan and Brent Local Plan have been the subject of Sustainability Appraisals and in themselves include a range of policies to ensure that development including tall buildings respond to climate change and environmental efficiency requirements. Brent Policies for example include minimising greenhouse gas emissions, energy infrastructure, urban greening and sustainable drainage. Tall
buildings allow for an effective use of land in highly accessible locations and have advantages of minimising car travel and support infrastructure being delivered in a sustainable way such as waste management and energy.

 

MP calls for government action on District Heating Network energy pricing

 Wembley Matters has been trying to draw attention to the huge bills facing residents attached to District Heating Networks as they are classified as uncapped commercial rates.

Good to see this MP calling for government action.

Call for heat network protection as government’s backstop fails to protect these customers - price rises of up to 700% reported

Wembley Matters has publicised the difficulties ahead for residents whose new blocks are linked to a District Heating Network. These include blocks in South Kilburn and Wembley.  Because there is a single heating source for all the flats in the block  the gas is counted as commercial rather than domestic and thus the cap on bills is not applicable. In addition residents do not have the option of changing their heating supplier as that can only be done by the managers of the block.

Huge bills are anticipated giving rise to great anxiety, particularly those residents of South Kilburn who are being moved from Brent Council properties with their own domestic heating to housing association blocks on District Heating Networks.

There has been next to no information on how this will affect residents although one pensioner anticipates that heating bills alone will be more than his total income.

The Heat Trust issued this statement on Friday:

As approximately 22 million customers brace themselves for Ofgem's price cap rise today, more than half a million households on communal and district heating networks remain locked out of any protection – leaving them exposed to even bigger, unrestricted price rises.

Consumer protection body Heat Trust is warning that urgent government action is needed to support those living on heating systems that are not protected by the price cap.

Heat Trust, the independent national consumer protection scheme for heat networks, says those living on communal or district heating systems are set to be amongst the worst affected by the soaring cost of gas – with residents facing the prospect of being unable to afford to heat their homes.

The government’s price cap does not currently apply to the heat network market, where operators buy gas on the commercial rather than the regulated domestic gas market.

The Director of Heat Trust, Stephen Knight, has written to Kwasi Kwarteng, Secretary of State at BEIS, to request that 500,000 households are not overlooked as the government looks to ease the financial pressure on families and has been promised a meeting with the Secretary of State, alongside others from the sector, later this month.

Heat networks are seen as a major part of the UK’s decarbonisation plans, and can deliver low-carbon, low-cost energy to homes. However, as the market is currently unregulated, consumers are not protected in the same ways as other energy markets. 

The wholesale gas price, which until last autumn had averaged around 1.5p/kWh for decades, peaked at 27p/kWh at the start of March and has averaged around 10p/kWh in recent weeks. This means that when heating operators renew their commercial gas contracts, they are seeing massive increases, which are often passed straight on to consumers.

Consumers and landlords operating heat networks are already reporting examples of price rises of up to 700% - the equivalent of the price of a pint of milk rising from 60p to £4.80.

Heat Trust is calling for government intervention to include:

• Ensuring heat network operators and their consumers receive government support to ensure that their bills rise no faster than those of domestic gas customers.
• Bringing forward its plans to regulate the heat network market via Ofgem which were confirmed in December last year,
• Bringing forward plans to help heat networks improve their efficiency to reduce heat wastage.

Stephen Knight, Director of Heat Trust, said:

The government is committed to making heat networks a key part of its energy policy, and must not leave families living on these schemes behind.

Heat networks have the potential to offer low-cost, low-carbon heat, but without intervention, hundreds of thousands of families are facing horrendous and unaffordable heating bills.

Heat network operators are keenly awaiting further news of the government’s Heat Network Efficiency Scheme (HNES) aimed at improving the performance of communal heating projects.

The HNES Demonstrator £4.175m grant scheme has already supported a number of communal networks to improve their performance, but the full scheme is not currently due to be launched for another 12-months (spring 2023), and Heat Trust wants to see this scheme brought forward and expanded to cut bills by reducing heat wastage.

Heat Trust is also calling for changes to the Landlord and Tenant Act rules which currently make it difficult for landlords to buy gas more than 12 months in advance, making them vulnerable to price fluctuations. If they could buy gas for longer periods of time, it might protect consumers from market volatility.

Knight added:  

Our mission is to protect heat network customers.

Commercial gas price increases of this magnitude are simply not sustainable for heat network customers. They are driving up household bills in unprecedented ways – many people will have to choose between heat and food.

Heat networks are commonly used in blocks of flats and are becoming increasingly common with social landlords, meaning the most vulnerable people in society are the ones most affected by the current crisis. We can’t let that happen.

Brent residents on District Heating Networks face unsustainable rise in bills as the energy crisis worsens

District Heating Networks (DHN) promised a more environmentally sustainable heating system through a single heating plant for multiple properties rather than expensive individual gas boilers.

 

Research published as long ago as 2002 LINK concluded:

 

The result is that, although the DHN is affected by much higher embodied energy (mostly for piping and civil works) than that required by domestic gas boilers, the energy consumption and the polluting emission rate is so low as to balance the difference with the competing technology in a few years.

 

By 2015 Which LINK was discussing some drawbacks:

 

Many of us don’t trust energy suppliers, but what if you were stuck with one supplier for as long as you lived in a property, with no control over the price you pay? This is the reality for many district heating customers.

 

More than 200,000 homes across the UK are connected to a district heating network. This is where heat from a central source is distributed to properties through a network of pipes. And its use is growing, particularly in built-up urban areas. The Government thinks district heating could provide heat to eight million homes by 2030.

 

There are benefits; it can be low carbon and there’s no need to maintain a gas boiler. However, there is currently very little protection for consumers living in properties connected to district heat networks.

 

They have no choice in who they get their heat from. No access to an ombudsman should they have a complaint. And no control over the price they pay.

 

We’ve uncovered unacceptable detriment

 

Over the past year we have been conducting a major investigation of district heating. We spoke to customers on district heating networks, including those of you who shared your views here on Which? Convo. We found widespread dissatisfaction, with cost a major concern.

 

The people we surveyed had concerns ranging from worry that they had been mis-sold district heating, to confusion around what was included in their bills. Many of them felt let down and frustrated by poor customer service and complaints handling procedures.

 

It’s an emotive issue, as one private homeowner from London told us:

‘We are stuck between the supplier and the developers, with each blaming the other for the lack of hot water. All the while we … face numerous outages and so have to boil a kettle to wash or bath my two and a half year old in.’

 

We also looked at the cost of district heating and found a huge difference in the price paid by customers. Some were paying up to 25% more for their heating than if they’d been on a standard gas deal, and that includes all the additional costs of installing and maintaining a gas boiler. In many cases, district heating customers couldn’t understand why they were being charged a high standing charge, despite not having the heating on and using little or no hot water.

 

District heating – what’s the solution?

 

We have been working with the industry on Heat Trust, a voluntary consumer protection scheme. Heat Trust aims to replicate many of the protections available to those with gas or electric heating, such as access to an ombudsman and guaranteed standards of performance. However, as a voluntary scheme, it won’t cover all consumers and it won’t tackle the issue of fair pricing.

 

Access to affordable and reliable warmth and hot water is a fundamental right; we rely on it for comfort and health. Everyone deserves a fair deal and great customer service from their heat supplier. However, there’s a danger that district heating companies will take advantage of their unregulated, monopoly position.

 

By January  2022 Leaseholder Knowledge pulled no punches :

 

Leaseholders who get their heating and hot water from communal systems face price hikes of nearly 500%, and are unable to switch suppliers for a better deal.

 

They feel like “captives” who are being “extorted” by their “monopoly” providers, they tell the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership

 

A major issue is that properties in DHNs are counted as commercial rather than domestic entities and are therefore not entitled to the energy cap. In January of this year Energy Live News reported:

 

The government has been urged today to take urgent action to protect around half a million homes living on communal and district heating networks.

 

The Heat Trust suggests these homes could be hit hardest by the soaring gas prices because heat networks operators purchase gas on the commercial rather than domestic markets.

 

Commercial gas prices are currently around four times pre-crisis levels. The Heat Trust said commercial gas saw a 1000% price increase last year, rising from 1.5p per unit to 15p per unit before Christmas.

 

The report notes that consumers and landlords operating heat networks are already reporting examples of price rises of up to 700%.

 

The authors of the report called for the government to intervene by allowing heat network operators to purchase gas at the capped domestic tariff rates.

 

No action has been taken by the Government and the war in Ukraine is pushing up world energy prices leaving tenants in DHNs (large scale) or Neighbourhood Heating Networks  (covering a small number of buildings) facing unsustainable bills way beyond those outlined above from April.

 

However the starting point for residents in  a local network before those increases is still higher than domestic consumers:

 

These figures are for a one bedroomed property in South Kilburn:

 

Flat energy use - about £600 a year (to date, not reflective of upcoming increases)

Boiler/pump electricity - historically up to £750 a year (to date, not reflective of upcoming increases) 

Heating system maintenance - about £300 a year 

Sinking fund contribution for boiler replacement - £50 a year

Heating System Total: £1,700 

 

On top of this there is the bill for domestic electricity use.

 

The resident can switch suppliers for domestic electricity but not for the Heating Network.  The same applies to the insurance premium which is very high.

The freeholders of building or whoever owns the heating system (sometimes not the freeholder but another investor or energy company) get commission from the whoever they buy energy from and the electricity supplier. This means they do not have an incentive to seek a lower price.

 

SOUTH KILBURN NEIGHBOURHOOD HEATING NETWORK

 

Brent Council on environmental and cost saving grounds is installing a District Heating Network on new developments on the South Kilburn Estate. Attempts by Wembley Matters to ask Brent Council to comment on the repercussions of the current fuel crisis have not been answered. Questions are batted between the Council, housing associations and providers, This is a note from the Minutes of the South Kilburn Tenants Steering Group of 24th November 2021: 

South Kilburn Neighbourhood Heating

Francesca Campagnoli (LB Brent) Francesca introduced herself and provided an update on the proposed South Kilburn District Heat Network. The network is intended to provide heating and hot water for all new homes in South Kilburn in phases between 2024 and 2030. All homes would have individual meters and thermostats with heating and hot water available all year but only billed to individual homes based on usage. The heating will also be underfloor in all new homes with no requirement for radiators.

 

There has been no detailed reply from Fransesca but housing officers have been unable to supply estimates of future heating bills to would be tenants of DHN properties currently being allocated such as Chippenham Gardens, now known as Alphabet.  These are council tenants being moved from buildings due to be redeveloped and clearly would not be able to afford the uncapped energy bills that look likely. I have already heard of someone turning down a property here because of this factor. Tenants will come under the Octavia housing association with energy billed by GURU.

Brent Council set out its proposals for billing in July 2020. LINK

Fuel Poverty Action are very concerned about the issue and published this valuable research last year on tenant action over high prices and unreliability of a DHN:

 

 

District Heating Networks are the preferred option for heating in developments across Brent and it is hard to predict whether in the future this will be the best option. Clearly there needs to be legislation to protect residents.

Meanwhile I would like to hear from tenants and owners of DHN buildings about their experience. Please comment below.