Latest reports suggest that the New South Wales government has abandoned its plan to ban dark roofs intended to reduce temperatures and energy costs for new homes.
This is as the state’s new planning minister has walked back ambitious sustainability measures announced by his predecessor.
Recall that former planning minister, Rob Stokes previously announced that he would be tasking the Department of Planning and Environment with the implementation of a requirement for lighter-coloured roofs in all new homes in the state.
Stokes had said at the time, that the policy feature would help NSW achieve its goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.
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“This would have an enormous impact on the urban heat island effect in our city,” Stokes was said to have told a forum run by the urban think tank Committee for Sydney in November.
He was quoted as saying “There are no practical reasons why we shouldn’t be ditching dark roofing on new homes permanently to ensure that future communities of Sydney’s west don’t experience the urban heat that many communities do now”.
According to reports, the dark roof ban was one of many ideas announced by Stokes as part of his sustainable planning agenda, which also included a Design and Place State Environmental Planning Policy (Sepp) as its centrepiece.
However, the new planning minister, Anthony Roberts announced that he would not introduce the Design and Place Sepp after the cost and regulatory burden of adhering to the policy were fiercely criticised by property developers during its public exhibition period.
Roberts had succeeded Stokes after he was demoted from the role by premier Dominic Perrottet.
While the plan to require lighter-coloured roofs was not part of the proposed Design and Place Sepp, the ban appears to have been another sustainability idea scrapped since its announcement.
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
