They have called for a new code that would allow installation of new windows without planning permission.
Rico Wojtulewicz, head of housing and planning policy at the NFB, told The Telegraph: “Historic England, heritage groups and the energy sector should come together and create an acceptable materials and product code so that you don’t have to go through the planning process to change the windows.”
Historic England – the body that makes recommendations on heritage planning – welcomed the suggestion, telling The Telegraph that sash windows’ technological advantages were “invaluable in helping to cool buildings” and that it wanted to see a stronger market for them.
Simplifying the planning system for heritage homes, which represent as many as two million properties, would stimulate the market for traditional windows and bring down costs, argued the NFB.
Mr Wojtulewicz said that under the current planning system, some owners were waiting six months for planning permission, with material and labour costs soaring in the meantime.
In some cases, owners had simply installed traditional, single-glazed windows at great expense but with no efficiency gains because of the difficulty of getting permission.
“[The Government] needs to give the market certainty, and that’s by creating fair regulation, not overregulation,” added Mr Wojtulewicz. “You need to create a market.”
Source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/08/20/sash-windows-threat-latest-net-zero-plans-landlords/