It is important to be able to measure the green credentials of a scheme in order to ensure sustainability remains a creditable objective in construction. New homes will be assessed against the code for sustainable homes with the aim of achieving maximum rating.

Part L of the building regulations has made it mandatory to provide a SAP (Standard Assessment Procedure) rating for all new dwellings. Ideally, homes at RAF Coltishall should expect to achieve a minimum SAP rating of 100. As SAP only has regard to space and water heating costs, it may be desirable to also use wider environmental assessments of their homes:

Code for Sustainable Housing

This is a new code which rates new houses on their sustainability performance. We would aim to achieve the highest rating on the majority of properties.

National Home Energy Rating (NHER)

The National Home Energy Rating is more accurate than SAP as the rating takes into account the local environment and the affect it has on the building's energy rating. It calculates the costs of space and water heating as well as cooking, lights and appliances.
Dwellings should be designed and constructed to achieve an energy efficiency rating of not less than NHER 9.

Eco Homes

The Eco Homes scheme is a flexible and independently verified environmental assessment method for residential buildings run by the Building Research Establishment (BRE). It is used to measure objectively the extent to which sustainable approaches have been incorporated in the development and will consider dwellings in terms of their procurement use and disposal. A broad range of issues are taken into account including climate change, energy efficiency, embodied energy, transport use and ozone depletion. Dwellings at RAF Coltishall should expect to achieve a minimum Eco Homes rating of 'very good'.

BREEAM
It is expected that non-residential buildings will be rated using 'Bespoke BREEAM', the BRE's assessment tool for buildings that do not fall into the category of residential or office use. BREEAM assesses the performance of buildings across a wide range of issues including management, energy use, pollution, transport-related CO2 and location-related factors, ecology, construction materials and water consumption. Ideally, non-residential buildings should expect to achieve a minimum BREEAM rating of 'very good'.
Non-residential buildings should also have full regard to the environmental standards set out by any relevant organisations. For example, GP surgeries should meet the standards set out by NEAT (NHS Environmental Assessment Tool), schools should comply with the DfEE's 'Building Bulletin 87' and BRESCU's 'Good Practice Guide no. 173'.