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Industry bids for green tax breaks

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme this morning, the UK property industry has called for tax breaks to help businesses ‘green’ existing commercial property.

It comes ahead of the first parliamentary inquiry on how to green existing shops, offices and warehouses this afternoon, being run by the All Party Urban Development Group.

Clive Betts MP said: “We recognise the importance of tackling carbon emissions and very often we do focus on new build when the majority of emissions come from existing buildings.”

Responding to the question of whether we need targets for existing buildings to sit alongside plans outlined in the last Budget to have ‘zero carbon’ new commercial buildings by 2019, Mr Betts added:

“If we set targets how do we provide incentives for business to do meet them? Business also has a responsibly to our society so we want to find what plan of action is best”

Liz Peace, chief executive of the British Property Federation, said:

“The industry can do an awful lot to help itself. Business can make a lot of savings simply by cutting back on waste. I’m urging British Property Federation members to get out there and make the operation of their buildings more efficient.

“But doing something more fundamental costs a huge amount of money; we’re in a cyclical downturn at the moment and we need some serious fiscal support tax breaks, incentives to allow business to go out and make these highly costly improvements.”

Mr Betts said:

“We need a proper system of measurement and recording, so if tax breaks come in we can get value for public money. So far, the evidence we’re getting in shows there isn’t a clear system for measurement and recording.

Ms Peace added:

“I hope this inquiry pushes the government to act. We’ve had lots of policies flying in from all over the place, relatively uncoordinated, some of them are just plain daft, and I very much hope that the forthcoming report will give the government a kick in the right direction.”

For more info call Andrew Teacher on 07968 12 45 45 / ateacher@bpf.org.uk