Britain Remade

🇬🇧 Britain Remade is a campaign to promote economic growth. We put forward practical solutions to the problems holding Britain back.
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[Britain Remade @BritainRemade]

£102.7bn on HS2. The most expensive railway per mile in the world.

And we're building the most expensive nuclear power station in the world. This is no coincidence.

It will keep happening until we change the way we build infrastructure, @sjarichards tells @TomSwarbrick1.

[Conservative Environment Network @CEN_HQ]

📺 Can we end our reliance on energy imports?

Join CEN MP @David__Reed and @BritainRemade's @sjarichards for our upcoming webinar to discuss how can we can bring energy security to Britain.

Sign up in the 🧵 below

[Sam Dumitriu @Sam_Dumitriu]

>be Cheshire East Council
>developer wants to build 160 homes and a care home
>also offers parkland, school money, sports cash, cycle paths, healthcare funding, affordable homes, biodiversity gain
>our own planning officers say approve it
>they explain refusal won’t survive appeal
>they explain refusal will cost taxpayers
>ignore them
>reject it 7–2
>developer appeals
>realise we have no case
>don’t even defend our own decision
>inspector approves the homes anyway
>accidentally lose £345k for cycling and walking also lose £144k for local healthcare
>nearly £500k in local benefits gone
>homes still get built
>just later minus £500k for community
> tell residents we stood up for them

https://t.co/7BWO7LgM3K

[Sam Dumitriu @Sam_Dumitriu]

Is AC banned in British new builds?

In theory, no. But in practice it is ruled out in most cases for new builds.

In this blog, I explain the specific barriers within Part O of the Building Regulations that block AC being installed in most new builds.

https://t.co/8llackkpTR

[Joe Allen @Joe___Allen]

Another practical thing the new Welsh Gov could do now to make lives easier.

Building regs are devolved. We don't need to wait for new powers to make new homes better to live in.

We've just had Wales's hottest ever day in May. Our electricity has never been cleaner.

[Sam Dumitriu @Sam_Dumitriu]

Britain's building regulations are biased against AC, despite the Climate Change Committee declaring that all new hospitals and schools should have AC as standard.

The rules force housebuilders to maximise passive means of cooling before considering AC.

The result? Most new homes have tiny windows, but still can't cope in Summer.

While housebuilders in London have been told to maximise 'dual aspect' which cuts into valuable floorspace, while failing to cool our homes in 30C heat.

[Britain Remade @BritainRemade]

Our homes are overheating too regularly. It's not comfortable and it's not safe, particularly for older people.

We need to change overheating regulations and cool Britannia with home air con.

https://t.co/stgFfU158v

[Britain Remade @BritainRemade]

Britain is a hot country now. But we don't build for the heat. Overheating regulations prioritise passive cooling and treat air conditioning as a last resort.

It's not enough any more. Active cooling should be normal in new homes.

[Britain Remade @BritainRemade]

Our summers have never been hotter, our electricity has never been cleaner. It's time for home air con in Britain.

https://t.co/stgFfU158v

[Britain Remade @BritainRemade]

USA vs. UK

Watch until the end for the really big difference...

[Britain Remade @BritainRemade]

60 German cities have mass transit, compared to only 7 in England.

If the mass transit taskforce gives mayors the power to build it could see England finally catching up with the much better transport our friends in France and Germany enjoy.

[Britain Remade @BritainRemade]

60 German cities have mass transit, compared to only 7 in England.

If the mass transit taskforce gives mayors the power to build it could see England finally catching up with the much better transport our friends in France and Germany enjoy.

[Yorkshire Evening Post @LeedsNews]

Mass transit taskforce could see regional Mayors handed more powers as Leeds tram plans given boost https://t.co/AqeKlB20o1

[Sam Dumitriu @Sam_Dumitriu]

This is exciting.

British tram projects take longer and cost four times as much as they do in Germany.

So Labour have announced a 'mass transit taskforce' (Fingleton for Trams).

The taskforce includes David Milner (who co-wrote the @BritainRemade/@createstreets paper that revealed the huge cost gap.)

And it looks like the Govt will devolve the Transport Works Act Order process so West Yorkshire can grant itself planning permission to build a tram in Leeds (without asking central govt).

This is a key ask of @BritainRemade.

(Credit to @Ben_A_Hopkinson, @JP_Spencer_, and @dc_lawrence for pushing for this.)

https://t.co/AHslY3O9Wi

[Britain Remade @BritainRemade]

@socialgreenmh 🎯

[Britain Remade @BritainRemade]

If your builder spends 50K on custom doorknobs, it's a bad sign for the total cost of your new kitchen.

A £125m bat tunnel is a fraction of HS2's >£100bn, but a sign that planning is broken.

Planning uncertainty & risk prevent supply chain investment, part of why costs soar.

[Britain Remade @BritainRemade]

If your builder spends 50K on custom doorknobs, it's a bad sign for the total cost of your new kitchen.

A £125m bat tunnel is a fraction of HS2's >£100bn, but a sign that planning is broken.

Planning uncertainty & risk prevent supply chain investment, part of why costs soar.

[Sam Richards @sjarichards]

No one is saying the £125m bat tunnel alone is the reason HS2 costs north of £100bn. But, along with HS2 specific big issues (route, speed), it is a perfect example of a system wide problem. Gold plating, process over outcomes, legal risk and delay increase costs at each stage

[Britain Remade @BritainRemade]

@alexhrbfc haha healthy competition in visual aids.

[Britain Remade @BritainRemade]

Building "luxury flats" actually makes housing more affordable for everyone.

It's an effect shown in studies around the world.

The chains created by people moving into high end properties free up homes all the way down the ladder.

[Sam Dumitriu @Sam_Dumitriu]

HS2 is so expensive that a lot must be going wrong (beyond regulation), but regulation is still a big driver of cost.

HS2's £125m Bat Shed is a colossal waste of money, but it only represents a small fraction of HS2's massive costs.

It's important to look not just at the direct costs (£125m on a bat tunnel), but the indirect costs too.

I wrote this about why bad regulations made British nuclear more expensive, but much of it applies to HS2 as well.

https://t.co/uK9vza12Aw