Noise assessments can continue throughout COVID crisis, advisers rule
Sound and noise assessments will continue across the UK despite the current lockdown situation meaning most people are working from home and access to many areas is restricted. Joint Guidance on the Impact of COVID-19 on the practicality and reliability of baseline sound level surveying and the provision of sound and noise impact assessments has […]
Sustainable modular builds increasingly popular
With all major construction work on hold until the COVID-19 pandemic passes, developers will be looking for some quick wins once lockdowns are lifted. And with the renewed focus this enforced break is having on the environment, sustainable solutions are set to take centre stage. Modular builds tick both boxes of speed and sustainability and […]
Permitted development for airspace development
Property owners will be able to build two additional storeys onto apartment blocks without planning permission, the UK Government has announced. The controversial move, permissible from the summer, aims to boost home ownership but looks set to spark a debate around neighbourhood disputes and the risk of substandard building work. Residential skylines could be transformed […]
Coronavirus: Business planning for the energy sector
During these testing times of global health and economic crisis, the one thing the business world craves (apart from the good health of their teams, naturally) is certainty. We are grateful, therefore, to our friends over at the Edie newsroom for pulling together an excellent checklist for energy professionals to use during this time of upheaval. […]
COVID-19: The good news story emerging from the sci-fi style crisis
As the world is gripped by the health and economic crisis born of COVID-19 and millions of us start our lockdown life, it is hard to find anything to be pleased about. The shutters have come down on bars and restaurants, family gatherings are as good as banned and high streets are ghost towns with […]
New innovative scheme to conserve newts and promote sustainable development is rolled out across England
A new approach to great crested newt licensing being rolled out across England has been welcomed by Syntegra’s director of ecology. Trish Holden said Natural England’s innovative approach would also benefit other species and ensure biodiversity net gain resulting from planning applications. Great crested newts have seen dramatic declines in their populations over the last […]
Green New Deal unveiled for London
London mayor Sadiq Khan has announced plans to spend £50m on a Green New Deal for London as part of a pledge to make the city carbon neutral by 2030. He said his plans would help improve the capital’s dangerous levels of air pollution “I’m unapologetic at how ambitious my plans are for a Green New […]
Government announces new funding to boost hydrogen production and clean up industry
Two new low-carbon hydrogen production plants and a series of trials into cutting industrial process emissions will be funded by a new £90million UK Government pot. A total of £70 million will be spent on hydrogen production plants near Mersey and Aberdeen, while a third project will use offshore windfarms off the Grimsby coast to […]
17 months on…The Success of Syntegra’s Ecology Department Implementation of Global Goal 15
By Trish Holden, Director of Ecology Services When our Managing Director, Alan King, asked in August 2018 for each department to take on a Global Goal under The Global Goals for Sustainable Development (https://watch.globalgoals.org/), the Ecology Department took on Goal 15: Life on Land. Of this goal, target 15.5 Protect Biodiversity and Natural Habitats seemed […]
Meet us at the IHIF Berlin and MIPIM Cannes 2020
Networking at industry events is a great way to sell your brand and show stakeholders that you really mean business with your business. And even when you’re one of thousands of participants representing hundreds of diverse countries, it’s a great opportunity to be seen and take your seat at the table of influencers. With that […]
Building better biodiversity
Broad ranging measures announced as the UK Government unveiled its Environment Bill have been welcomed by the team at Syntegra which is already ahead of the game providing services which will become mandated under the new legislation. Building developments will increasingly have to be delivered in a way which protects and enhances nature. The bill, […]
UK’s low-carbon heat networks receive £40m Government boost
A further seven low-carbon heat networks are to be funded by the UK Government in a £40m initiative. The project will bring clean heating to around 30,000 homes in London, Leeds, Liverpool and Bristol. The UK’s heat networks currently serve about 500,000 customers, but this could rise to five million by the middle of […]
Boost your business reputation with a kickstart to green initiatives
Business reputation can be boosted by implementing measures to tackle climate change. We at Syntegra tell this to our clients day in and day out – and fortunately they believe us and work with us to test the theory and see for themselves the positive results. So we were delighted when an international survey revealed […]
UK businesses wasting £60m in avoidable energy bills
A staggering £60m is being wasted by UK businesses in unnecessary energy bills, according to a new report. Energy thinktank Green Alliance says energy management needs to be improved if the country’s climate targets are to be met. The built environment accounts for 40% of national energy use and around one-third of emissions This month’s […]
Call for urgent boost to offshore wind and carbon capture and storage to meet net-zero target
The UK has been warned it needs to implement a four-fold increase in low-carbon energy, including significant expansion of offshore wind capacity, in order to reach its net-zero emissions target for 2050. The key finding is from Atkins Global’s Engineering Net Zero report, which highlights the capacity and policy barriers that the UK needs to overcome to […]
Government urged to aim for one million heat pump installations a year by 2035
The UK Government has been urged to invest in infrastructure for ground source heat pumps to boost low carbon heating systems. Bean Beanland, president of the recently Ground Source Heat Pump Association, told Utility Week that his organisation will be calling for capital grants to be made available for the installation of heat pumps. The replacement for […]
UK’s first grid-injected hydrogen trials begin on university campus
A pilot project has been launched to inject zero-carbon hydrogen into an existing gas network. The HyDeploy project is injecting hydrogen into Keele University’s existing natural gas network, supplying 30 faculty buildings and 100 domestic properties and results in hydrogen accounting for up to 20% of the gas mix in the network. The team responsible […]
Call for planners to be better funded to deliver net zero carbon emissions
The chief executive of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) has called for greater resources to be given to local authority planners to enable them to deliver net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Victoria Hills said the new Government now needs to address key issues to ensure town planners and the planning system are able […]
Highlighting the dangers solar glare can pose to train drivers
Syntegra was asked to conduct glare analysis on a building development adjacent to a railway line in Leeds to ensure it did not have a negative impact on the signal visibility for train drivers. Network Rail requests major developments conduct a glare assessment to avoid issues on signal visibility and safety at level crossings as […]
New rules to encourage business energy efficiency with SECR
Businesses need to be up to speed with the Government’s new Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) policy which mandates them to disclose their energy and carbon emissions. The policy, which came into effect on April 1st this year, affects almost 12,000 companies under the Companies (Directors’ Report) and Limited Liability Partnerships (Energy and Carbon […]
New energy performance rules imminent for residential development
The Government’s Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) for assessing the energy performance of residential units is being updated. SAP covers the energy cost rating of a dwelling and has not been updated for seven years. SAP10 has been issued but has not yet come into force, although its launch date is imminent and developers are being […]
New Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards in force
Landlords are being urged to comply with updated regulations in relation to minimum energy efficiency standards (MEES). Since April this year, new rules apply to energy ratings which affect a landlord’s ability to agree a new letting or tenancy. They now have to contribute up to £3,500 per property towards raising the rating on a […]
Ski slopes the venue for networking with a difference
Representatives from Syntegra will join more than 450 colleagues from the world of property development at the annual PropSki event in Chamonix in January. The week long gathering includes network events to meet peers from the global built environment sector combined with the opportunity to enjoy time on the ski slopes and relaxing with informal […]
Calls to change climate policies and fossil fuel production to avoid catastrophe
The world’s existing climate policies will not be enough to end the upward trend of energy emissions rising beyond 2040 without a “grand coalition” of governments and investors, according to the global energy watchdog, the International Energy Agency (IEA). In its World Energy Outlook, the IEA said that carbon emissions from the global energy industry reached a […]
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