On 25 April 2012, Nearer to Zero in the North West of England was held at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester. CLASP provided places for 70 local authority delegates, and in total over 130 delegates from local government and the house building industry heard expert presentations from Government, industry and the planning sector on the technical standards, costs and opportunities for delivering new housing to very low and zero carbon targets.

A keynote speech by Andrew Stunell MP, under Secretary of State responsible for housing and the Building Regulations, re-emphasised the government’s expectations that good local planning along with stepped improvements in design and performance standards through the Building Regulations can work together to ensure new homes have far lower emissions whilst also increasing new housing supply.

The conference also explored the changing costs of building zero carbon housing, a proposed framework for allowable solutions and a local case study of building Code Level 6 and Passive House standards.

Click here to download a copy of the presentations and supporting information for the event.