BREEAM New Construction Version 7 Launches Sep 30th

BREEAM New Construction Version 7 Launches Sep 30th

by | Sep 8, 2025 | Blog

BREEAM New Construction Version 7, set to launch on 30th September 2025, will set new standards for building performance, aligned with global decarbonisation efforts.

The comprehensive overhaul has adopted new minimum standards for achieving BREEAM ‘Excellent’ and ‘Outstanding’ ratings, with an emphasis on operational & embodied carbon reduction and wellbeing.

We are keen to help you understand the implications these changes will have on your future projects so please let us know if you would like to discuss BREEAM Version 7 with our team.
It may also be an opportunity for you to register any existing projects against the current BREEAM version to shield you from the more onerous requirements and costs of the new standard.

We can of course help you with registration and progression of these projects.

 

Ask us a Question
Tim Bell

Tim Bell

Head of Sustainability

Email: [email protected]
Phone: +44(0)161 337 2200
Matthew Dalley

Matthew Dalley

Senior Energy & Sustainability Consultant

Email: [email protected]
Phone: +44(0)161 337 2200
Charlotte Becker

Charlotte Becker

Graduate Sustainability Engineer

Email: [email protected]
Phone: +44(0)161 337 2200
Hannan BREEAM Services
Learn More about the Hannan Sustainability Team
HQM becomes BREEAM UK New Construction: Residential

HQM becomes BREEAM UK New Construction: Residential

by | Apr 11, 2025 | Blog

Change is afoot for Residential Sustainability Certification in 2025.
Home Quality Mark (HQM) is evolving to become BREEAM UK New Construction: Residential, from April 2025.

What is changing?

HQM was launched by BRE in 2015 following the withdrawal of The Code for Sustainable Homes, as a third party certification standard for the construction of new homes in the UK. HQM provides independent verification to determine that a residential property has been designed to meet a certain level of performance in terms of sustainability and quality. In April HQM will transition to become a new BREEAM standard.
The new standard will be based on the same science as the existing BREEAM certification standards, though it will be focused on residential properties rather than commercial. It will provide a stamp of quality and credibility that developers can use to help make their product stand out in a competitive marketplace and for home owners it signifies a quality home that will be a comfortable, more economic and an environmentally friendly place to live.
The transition to the new standard demonstrates the BRE’s commitment to improving sustainability standards for new homes.

 

Key Benefits of the transition to BREEAM UK New Construction: Residential

  • A more unified, streamlined approach to Residential Sustainability Certification
  • Help to ensure that the UK housing sector stays at the forefront of progression in terms of sustainability
  • Enhanced credibility and recognition for the UK housing market by aligning with the BREEAM brand
  • Better alignment with the UK’s wider sustainability targets

What do you need to do to prepare for the upcoming changes?

No significant immediate impact as all current HQM registrations remain valid. Future projects, however, will be registered and assessed under BREEAM UK New Construction: Residential V6.1.
There have been some minor changes to the daylighting criteria, enhanced lifecycle assessment and embodied carbon measurement. These will need to be considered when the new standard is released.

How are Hannan Associates helping clients?

Hannan are currently working with several clients on a number of varied residential projects from masterplan level to individual buildings. Hannan would be happy to discuss how we can help your teams transition to the new scheme, with minimal disturbance and maximum effectiveness.

The UK Housing Sector

The UK Government has prioritised tackling the housing crisis and has set a target to deliver 1.5 million homes over the next five years, but at the same time, the housing sector has been impacted by multiple factors in recent years and is in something of a transition period.
In 2022, emissions from residential buildings accounted for a fifth (20%) of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK and 30% of the UK’s total energy use (Ofgem). All New Homes will be required to decarbonise to help meet the UK’s 2050 NZC targets. England, under the 2021 regulation uplift, which requires semi-detached homes to have 30% lower emissions than a comparable home built under 2013 standards. The UK Government has proposed further changes to these requirements under the Future Homes.
Ask us a Question
Tim Bell

Tim Bell

Head of Sustainability

Email: [email protected]
Phone: +44(0)161 337 2200
Hannan BREEAM Services
Learn More about the Hannan Sustainability Team

Willohaus Salford

Greenhaus Salford

Valette Square Salford

New BREEAM Services: LCC & LCA Reporting & Analysis

New BREEAM Services: LCC & LCA Reporting & Analysis

by | Nov 7, 2024 | Blog

The Hannan Sustainability team now has in house expertise to deliver Life Cycle Assessment & Life Cycle Costing reporting and analysis to support delivery of the early stage Mat 01 & Man 02 BREEAM credits. Two relatively cost effective, high impact BREEAM credits.

Mat 01 Environmental impacts from construction products – Building life cycle assessment (LCA) – helping project teams to understand the overall environmental impact of the building design

Man 02 – Life cycle cost (LCC) and service life planning – provide credible information on the maintenance and operational costs of a building

By undertaking a Life Cycle Assessment early-on during the project concept process, we can help our clients and design teams identify and implement necessary environmental impact reduction measures at the lowest possible cost.

By providing our clients’ with life cycle cost advice, we are able to identify a suite of alternative product choices that will help reduce future materials replacement costs, saving our clients money.

If you would like any information about Life Cycle Assessment & Costing or anything else regarding BREEAM Assessment, please get in touch.

Tim Bell

Tim Bell

Head of Sustainability

Email: [email protected]
Phone: +44(0)161 337 2200

BREEAM New Construction Version 7 Launches Sep 30th

BREEAM Version 7 Coming Soon – Are You Ready?

by | Sep 5, 2024 | Blog

BREEAM Version 7, planned to be released later this year, sets new standards for building performance, aligned with global decarbonisation efforts. The comprehensive overhaul has adopted new minimum standards for achieving BREEAM ‘Excellent’ and ‘Outstanding’ ratings, with an emphasis on operational & embodied carbon reduction and wellbeing.

We have summarised some of the key changes below.

We are keen to help you understand the implications these changes will have on your future projects so please let us know if you would like to discuss BREEAM Version 7 with our team.

It may also be an opportunity for you to register any existing projects against the current BREEAM version to shield you from the more onerous requirements and costs of the new standard. We can of course help you with registration and progression of these projects.

Ask us a Question

Energy and Carbon

Reduced emphasis on the demand metric and more focus on performance outcomes.
New credits that focus on the prediction of a building’s operational energy use and carbon emissions aligned with NABERS.
Change to EV charging requirements that require a minimum allocation of 10% of parking spaces for EV charging stations and installing cable routes for 20% of parking spaces is required.
A new credit related to flexible demand response that recognises installed electrical building systems which have the capability to automatically modify their electricity consumption patterns in response to signals from the electricity supplier there by supporting grid stability and reducing peak energy use.
A new credit that requires installed controls that enable building servicing systems to respond more efficiently to the demand for energy services.

Health and Wellbeing

New credits rewarding advanced lighting control systems that enhance both comfort and energy efficiency and the benefits of lighting that supports a healthy circadian rhythm. Updated approach to daylight calculations.

Ecology and Pollution

New requirements promoting sustainable site selection practices and updates that include new benchmarks to align with English Biodiversity Net Gain law.
New prerequisite that mandates all refrigerant gases have zero ozone depletion potential.

Carbon and Materials

BREEAM ‘Excellent’ now requires LCA and embodied carbon reporting, while ‘Outstanding’ ratings require a minimum of five credits to be achieved.
A new methodology for Building Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) that includes calculations and reporting of LCA and Embodied carbon at building level during concept design, technical design, and post-construction.

Water

A new credit that requires projects to predict water consumption based on expected occupancy rather than standard occupancy.
Projects can earn up to two standard credits and two exemplary credits for accurately predicting water use, setting targets for in-use water consumption, and committing to measuring actual water use post-occupancy.
Tim Bell

Tim Bell

Head of Sustainability

Email: [email protected]
Phone: +44(0)161 337 2200
Matthew Dalley

Matthew Dalley

Senior Energy & Sustainability Consultant

Email: [email protected]
Phone: +44(0)161 337 2200
Charlotte Becker

Charlotte Becker

Graduate Sustainability Engineer

Email: [email protected]
Phone: +44(0)161 337 2200
Hannan BREEAM Services
Learn More about the Hannan Sustainability Team

Planning approved: Prestwich Village Masterplan

Planning approved: Prestwich Village Masterplan

by | Jul 24, 2024 | Blog

Image Courtesy of Muse Places

Work for the regeneration of Prestwich Village has commenced with the start of ground investigation and archaeological works for the proposed new Travel Hub located on Plot G of the masterplan.

The scheme received planning approval in July 2024 and is being brought forward via a joint venture partnership formed between Muse & Bury Council

The site of the former Longfield Shopping Centre will be sustainably transformed to create a new family friendly centre for Prestwich, which will include the following:

Plot G

Multi Storey Travel Hub, which will provide a long-term parking solution for the village delivering 300 car parking spaces, including 10% electric vehicle charging provision under the base build works, with capacity for expansion, cycle storage and a car club.

Plot A

30,000sqft Community Hub comprising community/event space, library, open plan office or health facilities, generally delivered to CAT A level of fit-out, with shell & core retail space within the ‘pavilion’ at ground floor level.

Plot B

25,000sqft Retail and Leisure facility constructed over ground+1 storey, with first floor open plan gym / office delivered to CAT A level of fit-out, with shell & core retail space at ground floor level.

Plot C

6,500sqft Market Hall including general retail, fresh food, and food & beverage stalls, with front of house seating area.

 

Image Courtesy of Muse Places

Hannan Associates Appointment

We are working on behalf of the Client to;

  • Assess works associated with existing utilities networks to accommodate the new development proposals.
  • Consultation and coordination regarding the design of new utility supplies to each plot
  • Provide Building Services Engineering design duties for each plot and the associated public realm work.
  • Assess the anticipated building performance using operational energy modelling techniques.
  • Undertake the BREEAM assessments for the relevant plots.

Hannan Associates are working in conjunction with Jon Mathews Architects, Chroma, Civic Engineers, MAC Construction Consultants, Hoare Lea, DFC, Planit & Asteer Planning.

Energy Strategy

National Policy, local legislation and the Clients’ sustainability policies will operate to reduce energy demand and CO2 emissions, enhancing the sustainability credentials of the development.

Each of the plots has been designed with the aim of reducing operational energy and carbon emissions, and as such, each is employing a fossil fuel free all-electric strategy, with no provision of mains gas to the development.

Passive measures have been prioritised to reduce energy demand, including enhanced fabric performance and air permeability, along with optimised glazing design.

Active measures have been taken to optimise the energy efficiency of fixed base build systems, i.e. Mechanical ventilation incorporating heat recovery, low flow sanitaryware, energy efficient LED lighting and controls systems.

Low & Zero Carbon Technologies have been incorporated where applicable in the form of high efficiency heat pumps to generate space heating, and allocation of dedicated zones at roof level for installation of a PV array.

BREEAM

Plots A, B & C have been designed to achieve a minimum of BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating.

Tom Cutt

Tom Cutt

Associate Mechanical Design Engineer

Email: [email protected]
Phone: +44(0)161 337 2200

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