A BID to ensure all new-build homes in the city meet an up and coming building standard has been rejected by city council chiefs.
Green Party councillor Neil Laurenson had called on the authority to implement the Passivhaus standards on all new developments in Worcester.
The Passivhaus method of house building sees properties designed ‘fabric first’ so they need virtually no heating or cooling.
There are only 30,000 of them built in the world, with each one costing just £100 a year to keep warm, according to supporters.
Coun Laurenson asked council chiefs to implement the standard and also make it a condition of sale any sites to developers.
“There are buildings in the city where the Passivhaus standard would be a real benefit,” he said.
“If Worcester City Council believes in localism, it can adopt more sustainable standards than the unambitious ones specified by the government.
“I believe we would be ahead of the curve if we adopted this motion,” he added.
However, Coun Mike Johnson, cabinet member for sport, leisure and retail, said it would lead to just 87 Passivhaus standard homes being built and “do nothing” for the other 43,000 existing properties in the city.
“I’m not a climate change denier and I recognise fuel poverty is a serious issue, but we have to live in the real world and make difficult decisions sometimes,” he said.
Coun Johnson also claimed implementing the standard would add 15 per cent to the cost of new developments.
The motion was rejected by 33 votes to two.
