Data from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government shows that in the 12 months to June, 251,000 EPCs were recorded for new build homes. For the same period for Wales, 9,000 EPCs were lodged, up 17% year-on-year.
From April to June 2021, 85% of new properties in England were awarded an A or B rating. For Wales this was 86%.
Robert Jenrick, Housing Secretary, said: “This government acted decisively to keep the housing market open and operating safely during the pandemic. We are now seeing the benefit as these latest figures indicate an increase in supply of green homes.
“Not only do we want to build back better, we want to make sure homes across the nation are fit for the future, better for the environment and more affordable for homeowners to heat. Our environmental targets will be fair and affordable to everyone.”
These targets include the Future Homes Standard under which new homes, by 2025, must emit at least 75% fewer carbon emissions against current build standards.
Separately, the housing secretary has reaffirmed that, as part of strengthening planning guidance on flood risks, all planning applications that the Environment Agency objects to due to flood concerns must be referred to ministers. The government is also considering how planning decisions in areas prone to surface water flooding “could be subject to the equivalent rules in future”.
