Welcome to December – traditionally when everyone goes slightly mad with Christmas preparations, finishing projects before the holidays and monitoring the Chancellor’s Autumn statement for brief news about the construction industry. So, it was great to meet some of the stalwarts of Welsh construction at our event at the Senedd this week to celebrate the winners of the CEW and the ICE Awards from 2014.

Our Minister, Carl Sergeant spoke at the event, and he reinforced the Government backing for our industry and praising our commitment to sustainable ways of working – especially with regard to waste and low carbon. One of our award winners Great House Farm, the winner of our sustainability award was visited by the Minister and is a great example of what can be achieved on a smaller scheme with a collaborative approach. But none of us can afford to rest on our laurels. As Carl Sergeant said, we now need to make sure that the best practice exemplified in the CEW and ICE awards is passed on to the private sector and is not just pursued amongst the public sector work so relied upon recently. But more than that, we as an industry must still strive to educate everyone up and down the supply chain about the long term benefits of working collaboratively and focussing on whole life costs – not short term gain. That’s why the survey being championed by Carl Sergeant into how we heat homes in Wales is so important. The details are below in the newsletter, but please pass on the call for feedback.

The Zero Carbon Hub is seeking views from the housing industry in Wales. The e-survey is seeking the views of designers, estate managers, tenant engagement officers and other professionals on the challenging issue of overheating in homes. It is a crucial issue for Wales and the people of Wales – especially as it rather looks from what George Osborne’s statement austerity is still going to be with us for some to come.