June 2011: An action packed Great British Refurb day!

The Green Deal and the Big Society – one day conference

On the 20th June Kevin McCloud gave the keynote speech at the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s The Green Deal and the Big Society Conference. Kevin spoke alongside the Energy Minister Greg Barker, who is responsible for delivering the Government’s Big Society vision, and challenged the minister and attendees from Government, industry, business and civil society organisations on how crucial it will be to get the Green Deal right. Right for the environment; right for the economy; and right for the public.

Kevin shared some of his experiences of green retrofit, warned of the dangers of us rushing headlong into tackling our historic homes with the same gusto as more ‘simple’ modern cavity wall dwellings (because there are a host of technical considerations that must be worked through with our older buildings), and welcomed the introduction of the Green Deal to help communities and householders. However, Kevin was keen to point out that while the Green Deal is a wonderful opportunity there are still gaps in the legislation that Government must plug if it is to be a success. Kevin called on the Government to support the Warm Homes Amendment and put in place a plan for the Green Deal that sets targets with clear milestones en route to 2050.

Mumsnet webchat

Then it was a flit across London and straight into Mumsnet HQ where Kevin joined their online team to answer a plethora of questions on the campaign, the Green Deal and low carbon refurbishment as well as sharing a few more random insights about himself.

Kevin seemed to have caused quite a stir ahead of the chat amongst the Mumsnetters (including multiple proposals of marriage!) so we were excited to see how the webchat panned out and the followers of Mumsnet didn’t disappoint! Some of our favourite questions were:

“I would like to ask you how green is your own house? In particular, how do you heat it and do you have solar PV or any other form of microgeneration?”

“Is there any financial help to help me make eco improvements to my home?”

“Do you ever look at the vast expanses of glass and steel built by couples with small children and shudder at the thought of endlessly wiping off fingerprints?!

“Have you ever had the urge to roar loudly ‘I am Kevin McCloud of the McCloud Clan and I AM IMMORTAL!’”  (This person was married to a Highlander fan!)

With Mumsnet's excitable audience dipping in and out of the webchat over 5,000 times, it was a great success for the campaign. So why not have a read of the transcript here and let us know what you think?