{"id":5386,"date":"2020-09-03T11:45:50","date_gmt":"2020-09-03T10:45:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.futurebuild.nl\/?p=5386"},"modified":"2020-09-24T15:18:09","modified_gmt":"2020-09-24T14:18:09","slug":"opinion-piece-by-tom-reynolds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.futurebuild.nl\/en\/opinion-piece-by-tom-reynolds\/","title":{"rendered":"Opinion Piece by Tom Reynolds"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Opinion Piece by Tom Reynolds<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Prime Minister\u2019s proclamation that the UK will \u201cBuild Build Build\u201d to recovery provides both opportunities and challenges for the construction industry and its supply chain. The opportunities are obvious \u2013 if Boris Johnson delivers on his aspiration there will be a massive uptick in demand for the whole sector. After the catastrophic shock caused by the pandemic, that demand-side boost will be warmly welcomed. In this article, it is some of the challenges that I want to focus on.<\/p>

Firstly, a major and well-known limitation on the capacity of the construction sector is a shortage of skilled labour, a problem sure to be exacerbated by tighter immigration laws after the transition period. Greater availability of workers due to growth in unemployment is no help without a huge boost in training capacity. Already, only a fraction of those operating as plumbers, for example, are members of CIPHE or Watersafe with ideal skills levels. Fittings manufacturers have been concerned for years about the poor installation of their products, and the unfortunate impact it has on their brands. We need to find a way to rapidly increase the availability of labour and improve skills levels.<\/p>

Another problem is a lack of capacity in public sector procurement. The apparent inability of public bodies to consider anything other than price on projects when most agree that quality and efficiency should be prioritised is deeply frustrating, whether architect, contractor or supplier seeking specification.<\/p>

Capacity in the planning system is a familiar challenge for the construction sector, and politicians\u2019 go-to problem to be fixed. It\u2019s no surprise that MHCLG have been quick out of the blocks in proposing sweeping planning reforms, now under consultation. While the Government hope quick permission will mean homes can be built out by developers within 30 months, TCPA has already warned that \u201csteamrolling over people\u2019s views will be divisive and counterproductive.\u201d Even when there are \u201cshovel-ready solutions\u201d from the Government, these are knotty issues it seems.<\/p>

A further complex issue is how we achieve a fast and radical improvement on the sustainability of the UK\u2019s built environment. I welcome that the aforementioned planning reforms will have an ambition for new homes to be \u2018zero carbon ready\u2019. However, \u201cBuild Build Build\u201d must stretch to home improvement and retrofit of the UK\u2019s 29 million existing homes if we are serious about achieving our national environmental goals. The establishment of the Green Homes Grant (GHG) was a pleasing nod to this reality, but \u00a32billion is not enough resource and the scope of the scheme is too narrow.<\/p>

This brings me to a personal peeve. The GHG makes no mention of water-efficient fittings as either a primary or secondary fundable measure. \u201cPlanning for the Future\u201d refers to energy-efficiency nine times and carbon-reduction six times. It mentions water once, and even then, in the context of past reforms. How can we build back better and greener after COVID-19 if we are ignoring the natural resource most fundamental to handwashing?<\/p>

It\u2019s not as if water scarcity isn\u2019t well understood. Water companies are forecasting large gaps between the level of available water resource and the level of demand. Due to climate change and more extreme weather patterns the level of water available is reducing. Simultaneously, population growth is increasing demand. By 2050 the UK could have a structural deficit of up to 8,200 Mlitres of water a day \u2013 over eight times the current daily consumption of Wales. This is what the CEO of the Environment Agency has described as the \u201cjaws of death\u201d and an \u201cexistential crisis\u201d in the UK within 25 years.\u00a0<\/p>

On an infrastructure level, water companies need support in increasing supply and reducing the 3,200 Mliters lost through leaky pipes every day. On an individual dwelling level, fittings manufacturers are constantly innovating more water-efficient bathrooms. Careful consideration needs to be given to policy levers that incentivise the retrofit of more efficient fittings and, crucially, nudge consumer behaviour.\u00a0 Government and the construction industry must become alive to the fact that improving the water efficiency performance of our buildings is as vital as achieving net-zero carbon.<\/p>

The final challenge I want to touch on relates to product compliance. Now, there are too many bathroom products available in the UK marketplace that do not adhere to the harmonised standards required by the Construction Products Regulation. This is frustrating for credible companies like those in BMA membership, who go through testing and production of DOPs at significant costs, only to be undercut by the less scrupulous. More importantly, non-compliance puts user\u2019s safety at risk and is ripping consumers off when products do not perform as they should. The gradual move from CE mark to UKCA adds some complexity to this challenge but could be a one-off opportunity for the whole construction supply chain to get compliance right.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

For many bathrooms fitting the Water Supply (Water Fitting) Regulations adds an additional layer of complexity on compliance.\u00a0 I recognise the challenge for buyers and specifiers here, but I urge all to focus on the demonstration of conformity rather than demanding any specific approval schemes that can limit choice.<\/p>

So, the opportunities of \u201cBuild Build Build\u201d come with a smorgasbord of challenges. With recognition of what is needed, collaboration and an intent to succeed, none of these challenges are insurmountable. It is refreshing that at last, with a great level of prominence, there is recognition of the importance of the construction sector and its supply chain as a catalyst for the UK\u2019s recovery.<\/p>

Tom Reynolds is Chief Executive of the Bathroom Manufacturers Association (BMA)<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Opinion Piece by Tom Reynolds The Prime Minister\u2019s proclamation that the UK will \u201cBuild Build Build\u201d to recovery provides both opportunities and challenges for the construction industry and its supply chain. The opportunities are obvious \u2013 if Boris Johnson delivers on his aspiration there will be a massive uptick in demand for the whole sector. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5387,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[286],"tags":[],"edition":[],"class_list":["post-5386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion-pieces"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.futurebuild.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.futurebuild.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.futurebuild.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.futurebuild.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.futurebuild.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5386"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.futurebuild.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5386\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.futurebuild.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.futurebuild.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.futurebuild.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.futurebuild.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5386"},{"taxonomy":"edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.futurebuild.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/edition?post=5386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}