Megan Howell, Damon Birchfield.
This report documents the findings of the first stage of research to identify existing successful policy approaches and the preferred provisions to be modelled as part of the HomeSmart Renovations Best Practice Policy Approaches project. The first stage comprised a literature review and questionnaire-based interviews with officers from 17 local authorities.
The research identifies that there is strong interest in sustainable building within the interviewed councils, and a number of good examples of policy initiatives already in place. However there are limited resources, knowledge gaps, and a generally piecemeal approach to such initiatives. The implication is that there is potential for a much more coordinated and supportive policy environment for sustainable building. A proposed Resource Manual, to be developed as part of the Best Practice Policy Approaches project, was generally welcomed by the interviewed councils, particularly if the Manual were to be actively introduced to councils, via training sessions or similar processes.