Housebuilders will be forgiven for thinking that they have been caught in a paradox. The government has set them ambitious targets to solve the UK's affordability crisis, but at the same time has increased the environmental criteria that these homes must meet.As a result, the biggest names in the industry are questioning the viability of large-scale housing developments. They have sounded a warning that unless the government softens its stance on some of its toughest environmental restrictions, there is a risk that housebuilding volumes will fall.Lend Lease, Berkeley Homes and Crest Nicholson are calling on the government to define what it means by 'zero carbon' and to relax the requirement that all renewable energy should be based on site. They claim that unless these issues are resolved, they are unlikely to deliver the number of developments that the government wants.In an attempt to thrash out a solution, the housebuilders are working with the UK Green Building Council to put forward a series of alternative propositions to Westminster, which the govern ment is then expected to consult on duringthe summer.
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