Only a few years ago it was all about letter writing.  Then along came email and websites.  Now no campaign can call itself a campaign without a blog, a facebook group and even a twitter.  And the Grand Designs Great British Refurb Campaign is no exception.  So welcome to our blog.  We hope you’ll be a regular visitor and we hope you’ll tell your friends.  But of course you’ll do none of those things unless you know what this campaign is about.

27 per cent of the UK’s carbon emissions come from our homes.  Most of us don’t live in brand new eco friendly homes.  We live in poorly insulated, drafty ones which get too hot in the summer and leak heat in the winter.  Most of these homes will still be around in 2050, and we’ll still be living in them.  So much as we applaud the government’s ambitions on zero carbon new homes by 2016 we have a simple question.

What about the ones that are already standing?

Here at the Grand Designs Great British Refurb Campaign we think we have the answer.  We want as many people as possible to get turned on about giving their home a green make over.  Your very own Grand Design for the planet. And we want the government to make it easy for you by providing finance that you repay out of the savings you make on your energy bills.  Yes it really is that simple and we can’t understand why it hasn’t been done.  If it is good enough for the government to provide funding to scrap your car then it is good enough for them to help you improve your home.  Better still, if they did, they’d help create thousands of ‘green collar’ jobs.

So why not join us?  We’d love you too.  We need your help.  You can start by becoming a campaign supporter.  We’ll keep in touch with you about how the campaign is progressing and will occasionally ask for your help to put pressure on government, the opposition and your MP.  As importantly, we aim to help you to carry out green refurbishment of your own home.  Working with our partners and with Kevin McCloud we’ll be providing advice, show casing case studies and championing the work that people like you are doing up and down the country, in a range of different housing types, styles and ages.  And how much more could be done if the financial mechanisms were in place.

I look forward to campaigning with you.

Stuart Singleton-White

Campaign Director