THE LONDON ECOHOUSING PROJECT
THE ECOHOUSING PROJECT was started by XR in Kensington and Chelsea. The project is now ready to roll out across all London Boroughs.
ECOHOUSING is the way of looking at the building of newbuilds and the retrofitting of existing builds through the lens of ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY, including the consequent financial and well being benefits to the community of such builds.
ECOHOUSING CHAPTER 1:
POLICY CHANGE:
KENSINGTON AND CHELSEA BOROUGH COUNCIL HOUSING POLICY
In 2019, Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council issued a draft Housing Policy that contained zero reference to ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY within it. As part of the consultation process, and working with 16 members of the local Extinction Rebellion group (www.xrkensingtonchelsea.com), I conceived of and coordinated a full entry-level educational document on 'Ecohousing - The environmental, social and financial benefits of a comprehensive eco-build strategy'. This document also included support and commentary from expert groups, Repowering London and Community Energy London, as well as local youth and disabled residents.
REVISED KENSINGTON AND CHELSEA POLICY INCLUDES SUSTAINABLITY Subsequent to this consultation with Kensington and Chelsea Council and all participants in the project, the Council amended its updated Housing Policy now to include ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY as one of its KEY PILLARS.
WELCOME TO THE NEXT PHASE:
THE LONDON ECOHOUSING PROJECT
This ECOHOUSING project document is now available London-wide to all XR groups, members, and any grassroots lobbying groups to use as a tool to CHANGE THEIR LOCAL BOROUGH COUNCIL'S HOUSING STRATEGIES to include environmental sustainability.
The document contains:
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∙ The legislative and policy context to sustainability in housing
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∙ Key features of an eco-build
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∙ Current eco-build exemplars: London, UK, international
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∙ Addenda of issue specific concerns (air quality, public health etc.)
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∙ Expert and local supporter contributions
All PROJECT DOCUMENTS are available at this gdrive link:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1CpJMxFh5sSTl0ZYo4u6JZaO3raR523IF?usp=sharing
- The PDF Ecohousing document
- The folder of ALL LONDON BOROUGH COUNCIL HOUSING STRATEGIES - LONDON ECOHOUSING
PROJECT Borough Housing Strategy and Governance database.
HOW TO TAKE PART IN THE LONDON ECOHOUSING PROJECT ?
Email the Project Coordinator, Nicola Kench at: nicolakench@groundswellecosystems.com
to get a copy of the PDF document in WORD format so you can edit to suit the lobbying purposes of your borough.
Email back your updated new borough specific Ecohousing PDF to Groundswell Ecosystems so these new iterations and editions can be centrally tracked and, ultimately, collated into a London-wide project that details the work of grassroots lobbyists for critically needed environmental change in the spending of public money.
GUIDANCE ON HOW TO WORK WITH COUNCILS
As mentioned in the video, below is the link to sustainability professional Eleni Polychroniadou's ClimateFour.com guidance on how to work with your local council: https://climatefour.com/2019/10/27/how-to-work-with-your-local-council/
SUSTAINABILITY AND THE 21ST CENTURY
What’s in a policy?
A central part of Government’s policy to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 is to refurbish almost all existing buildings and focus on zero carbon new builds. The Greater London Authority has already committed itself to Zero Carbon Homes, and zero emissions from transport and buildings by 2050.
Any public housing strategy, worth hundreds of millions of pounds of tax-payers' money, that doesn't include full reference to ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY is not fit for the 21st century. Currently, following audit, and as explained in the video, only 1 borough out of London's 33 borough councils contains full reference to sustainability in housing: Kensington and Chelsea Council. This change was brought about directly by the work of the Extinction Rebellion Kensington and Chelsea Ecohousing project, and this lobbying process can be replicated in other boroughs, for full local governmental environmental accountability.
Sustainability in housing is affordability, and public health welfare, for London’s population.
We have a right to a say in the spending of this public money, for the public good.
Nicola Kench
Project Coordinator - LONDON ECOHOUSING PROJECT
