Ministers keynote address Building into the basement Conference QE11, Conference Centre 2 !anuary 2""#$ %ntroduction 1.

&ast year % 'isited (ermany and )as incredibly im*ressed by the )ay that basements are integrated into their *lans for housing de'elo*ments$ 2. About 98% of German houses have basements and I was told throughout my visit that in mainland Europe basements are seen as a way to ma imise land!use for small "ost in"rease. #ypi"ally in Germany this is only a 2 ! 12% "ost in"rease for up to $%% more living spa"e. &. As well as seeing houses with basements being used as additional living spa"e' I visited Glatthaar (ertig)eller ! the largest manufa"turer in Germany of prefabri"ated basements. #hey have an annual produ"tion of * ! 1%'%%% basements from 12 lo"ations in Germany. 2'%%% from three highly automated plants owned by the "ompany and an additional $ ! 8'%%% from 9 fran"hised operations.

+. I was e tremely impressed. #he "ompany spe"ialises in the supply of prefabri"ated basements' but does also underta)e planning' stru"tural engineering' and ground!wor)s. $. #he "ompany,s su""ess has been founded on a patented design for a 1%%% waterproof "ellar' together with "ontinual attention to produ"t -uality. I even saw a &%% tonne floating show!house at its fa"tory head-uarters site in ."hramberg!/aldm0ssinge. 1. #his te"hnology demonstrated' to me' that the basement water! proofing "on"erns of yesteryear are a thing of the past ! if we "an build a floating house with a basement the s)y 2or maybe I should say below the subsoil3 is the limit4 Background *. Everyone )nows that basements were on"e "ommon in the 56' but their use de"lined after the 191+!18 war' as land was "omparatively "heap and their fun"tion "hanged. 8. I am pleased to see' from the eviden"e of this "onferen"e' that there is now renewed interest in domesti" basements and I am aware of a number of e "ellent "ompanies operating in this field in the 56.
2

9. And it is obvious why ! the 7asements Information 8entre has drawn my attention to a number of studies' whi"h show the basement9s viability in "ost terms' and outline the benefits su"h as improved design' fle ibility' better land use' and more stable "onstru"tion. 1%. #hen there is in"reased energy effi"ien"y for buildings

with basements. #his "omes from a redu"tion in the area of e ternally e posed walls' "oupled with improved insulation "reated by the surrounding soil.

11.

Also we should note that on some brownfield sites ! due to

e "essive "ontamination and the need to "arry out remediation wor) ! it is -uite "ommon to have to remove large amounts of soil. #his gives an opportunity to "onstru"t basements and ma)e best use of any additional "osts entailed in ground wor).

12.

In addition' for "ontaminated sites there is less soil to bring

ba") onto the site in order to reinstate levels. In"reased "osts "an o""ur on non!"ontaminated brownfield land simply by the need to e "avate deeper in order to remove e isting foundations and other obstru"tions. 7asements "an possibly help re"oup some of

these "osts. In other "ases' basements "an be used to "reate a raft foundation and ma)e good use of the e "avated spa"e. 1&. %t seems to me that )hat the Basements %nformation

Centre is trying to achie'e is 'ery much in line )ith the (o'ernment+s commitment to deli'ering sustainable communities and economic land use$ ,ensity 1+. As anyone who thin)s about it for a minute would realise'

a basement "an provide $%% more living spa"e for a two!storey house and "an double the floor area of a bungalow without in"reasing the plot si:e. 1$. /hat is less obvious is that the 8ity of /estminster' for

e ample' not only has the highest property pri"es in the 56 but it also has some of the highest density housing ! ie. the number of houses per he"tare. 11. If you have wal)ed around /estminster you will realise

that many of the older houses do have basements. I understand that these were originally provided not only for servants and;or for the storage of solid fuel but also as a solution to rising damp.
4

#hey are now being reused as smart pied a terres and hen"e "ontributing in a perfe"tly a""eptable way to high density figures in parts of <ondon.

1*.

=ou are aware' of "ourse' that the Government pla"es great

emphasis on en"ouraging in"reased density of housing developments as part of >lanning >oli"y Guidan"e &.

18.

#here are also Government targets for redu"ing greenfield

development by using previously developed land. /e have a target whereby 1%% of new developments must be on brownfield land ! and I am pleased to say we are rea"hing and e "eeding this target ! it is "urrently at 1*%.

19. I have no doubt that the talent for "reativity and innovation within the "onstru"tion industry will mean that it will be interested in the "ontribution that basements "an ma)e in in"reasing density and thus meeting these targets.

Energy Efficiency 2%. #he ?@>A,s sustainable "ommunities plan also see)s to

in"rease the environmental sustainability of developments. As you may be aware the Government is "urrently ta)ing forward the 8ode for .ustainable 7uilding B this will help. 21. I am also interested to hear that the 7ritish 8ement

Asso"iation has "arried out through 7CE a resear"h proDe"t to determine the thermal performan"e of dwellings with basements built wholly or partly below ground "ompared with dwellings of e-uivalent volume built wholly above ground. 22. #he study "onfirmed that the in"lusion of a basement did

produ"e thermal benefits. Interestingly' the amount of energy saved depended upon the form and position of the basement. (urther details on this "an be found in the main body of their report. Market for Basements 2&. Interest in basements has been growing strongly amongst

self builders as plots be"ome more limited in area' and this mar)et now a""ounts for some 1% ! 12% of the new house mar)et.
6

2+.

Indeed' in some "ases the whole house is "onstru"ted

underground4 #he press re"ently featured a new house built for an ar"hite"t' whi"h rose only 1 feet above ground. /ith new te"hnology previous problems of lighting and a""ess to servi"es "an easily be solved. #his parti"ular house has a lawn as a roof. 2$. .urprisingly it wasn9t an Ee"o FomeE in a rural situation ! it

was in Gotting Fill. #he plot was diffi"ult to use be"ause of planning restri"tions' whi"h meant that the building "ould not be the "onventional height. 21. ?bviously a one!off ! but "an elements of this type of

approa"h be applied in other areasH In parti"ular this e ample draws attention to the importan"e of design in building below ground. 2*. ?n a wider front there is in"reasing interest in and use of

basements within the spe"ulative housing mar)et. (igures of 1%'%%% basement related proDe"ts a year have been re"orded by the GF78 and although this is small in terms of the total new! build mar)et' there are real signs of greater and wider use.

28.

-or e.am*le, basement trials ha'e been carried out by

some of the biggest housebuilders$ /he most recent and most e.tensi'e use of basements on an essentially flat site is the Martin (rant 0omes 1i'er'ie) Court de'elo*ment on the banks of the 1i'er Cam in Cambridge$ Cambridge is, of course, in one of the (ro)th 2reas identified in the sustainable communities *lan$

29.

#his site has &$ homes with basements and be"ause the

development "ontains otherwise identi"al houses without basements it offers the potential for true "osts "omparisons. #o permit greater natural light and ventilation' many of these properties have sun)en patios leading dire"tly from the basement. ?n"e again this shows the importan"e of well!thought out and e e"uted design. &%. 3e think it is both desirable and beneficial in any

de'elo*ment stage to in'ol'e as many *eo*le as *ossible in the design of houses, community facilities and *ublic s*ace$ 3e think it leads to better and more a**ro*riate design$ &1. Community in'ol'ement is a cornerstone of the

sustainable communities *lan$ %n the *ast % ha'e e'en said it is the *lan+s solid foundations 4 to today+s audience maybe %
8

should say that community in'ol'ement must be the basement under*inning it all5

1efurbishment &2. And we are not tal)ing Dust about new build ! as I said

earlier many buildings have an e isting "ellar or a small basement. #hese are often of poor -uality with little waterproofing' little heating and often with limited headroom. &&. /ith in"reased house pri"es there are now "lear advantages

in upgrading su"h spa"e so that it "an be put to benefi"ial use ! in the same way that loft "onversions are popular. I gather that it is now te"hni"ally possible to improve waterproofing and insulation so that basements "an be brought ba") into use at a standard whi"h is appropriate to the 21st "entury. &+. % find it im*ressi'e, and ama6ing, that it is no) e'en

*ossible to create an entirely ne) light and dry basement under an e.isting house$ Building 1egulations &$. 2s you )ill all be a)are, the 7,8M is the (o'ernment

de*artment res*onsible for building regulations$ %ndeed, %

9

sus*ect this may ha'e something to do )ith )hy you in'ited me here today5 &1. /he most im*ortant of the a'ailable *ublications is the

industry *ublished 2**ro'ed ,ocument 9 Basements for ,)ellings$ /his )as first *ublished in 1::;, and has been u*dated to align )ith the Building 1egulations 2"""$ /)o additional cha*ters co'ering *lain masonry and *lain in situ concrete retaining )alls ha'e also been *roduced$ % understand that these )ill be issued for *ublic comment in ne.t month$ &*. -or more information on this, % am *leased to say that

8aul E'erall, 0ead of the Buildings ,i'ision in the 7,8M, )ill be *anellist later on today to ans)er any <uestions you may ha'e$ /he Basement %nformation Centre &8. I would li)e to than) #he 7asement Information 8entre for

organising today9s "onferen"e. .ome may be surprised that su"h an organisation e ists but by bringing together a number of parties having a "ommon interest in basements' and providing te"hni"al and "ommer"ial e pertise to produ"e guidan"e and servi"es for basements for dwellings' it provides a useful servi"e.
10

&9.

=ou have raised some "on"erns ! e a"tly the role of su"h

an organisation. /e re"ognise the benefits of basements and applaud your wor) in "ommuni"ating these benefits to the wider world. I am sure you will "ontinue to engage with Government on this issue. +%. =e'ertheless, % ho*e that you ha'e got the message loud

and clear that this (o'ernment is su**orti'e of your )ork to *romote greater use of high <uality basements$ % ho*e that the construction industry )ill in'est in basement technology and *roducts and ado*t further measure for im*ro'ing the <uality and standards of basement construction for ne) and e.isting housing$

Conclusion +1. >o to conclude, dark, dam*, dingy basements are a

thing of the *ast$ Bright, modern, energy efficient basements that are e.tensi'ely built throughout =orth 2merica and mainland Euro*e are the future$ More li'ing accommodation for the same foot*rint has to be the right )ay for)ard$

11

+2.

% trust that you ha'e a successful conference and that %

can e.*ect to see e'er greater use of basements in ne) housing de'elo*ments )ith the ?@$ +&. % am sorry % can not stay )ith you 9 )e are launching

the (o'ernment+s fi'e year *lan 9 0omes -or 2ll 4 today, so you can imagine % am <uite busy$ But % ho*e that you )ill recognise that you ha'e in me a Minister )ho is a genuine basement buff$ % )ish you a successful conference and a successful future for the basement industry$

Ends 1;"" )ords

12