Council Leads Way to Use Welsh Timber in Construction

Built Environment , 23rd July 2021

Only four per cent of Welsh-grown timber is used in construction despite 95 per cent of harvested Welsh timber meeting the construction grade, Powys County Council’s Cabinet has heard this week.

Now the council has been at the forefront to address this with the introduction of its Wood Encouragement Policy in 2017 and by leading a pioneering project designed to encourage greater use of Welsh timber in the construction industry.

Home-Grown Homes was launched to identify and test interventions that could have a transformative impact on the Welsh timber construction supply chain and on the delivery of low carbon social housing in Wales.

The initiative, led by Powys County Council and funded by the Welsh Government and the EU Rural Development Programme, was launched in April 2018 and completed in March 2021. The research project was delivered by Woodknowledge Wales with project partners Cardiff Metropolitan University, Coed Cymru and BM TRADA.

The Project is currently looking at a further phase which will look to implement the learnings of Home-Grown Homes on a wider scale.

On Tuesday, July 6, Cabinet heard that the outputs of the pioneering project have influenced house builders, local authorities and housing associations, who are considering the use of timber in the construction of affordable and other homes to meet their carbon reduction targets.

During the project, housing associations such as Wales & West Housing have adopted policies making timber the first-choice material for their build programme, similar to the council’s own Wood Encouragement Policy.

Cabinet also heard that, thanks to the project, the Welsh Government has specified timber within its draft Development Quality requirements for new social housing as a material of choice for delivering low-carbon, energy efficient homes.

Cllr Iain McIntosh, Cabinet Member for Cabinet Member for Housing, Planning and Economic Regeneration, said:

“During its lifespan, the project has enjoyed successful collaborations and has enabled the council to build on relationships with various Welsh Government departments including Housing, Forestry and Economy as well as organisations such as Natural Resources Wales, all of which have been represented on the project’s steering group.

“Our sponsorship of the Home-Grown Homes project shows our positive leadership role in reducing the carbon footprint of our affordable homes. We remain the only council in Wales and the UK, and one of only a few in Europe, with a Wood Encouragement Policy.

“Phase Two of the Home-Grown Homes project, which is currently being considered by the Welsh Government for funding, will aim to influence policy to advance the development of Welsh timber for products such as timber windows and wood fibre insulation.”

Nid yw’r maes adeiladau ond yn defnyddio 4% o’r pren sy’n cael ei dyfu yng Nghymru er gwaethaf y ffaith bod 95% o goed Cymru’n bodloni’r safon adeiladu. Dyna’r neges y clywodd Cabinet y Cyngor yr wythnos hon.

Mae'r cyngor wedi bod ar flaen y gad wrth geisio unioni hyn trwy gyflwyno ei Bolisi Annog Defnyddio Coed yn 2017. Mae hefyd wedi arwain prosiect arloesol a gynlluniwyd i annog mwy o ddefnydd o bren Cymru yn y diwydiant adeiladu.

Lansiwyd cynllun Cartrefi o Bren Lleol i nodi a phrofi ymyriadau a allai cael effaith drawsnewidiol ar y gadwyn gyflenwi adeiladu pren yng Nghymru. Mae hefyd wedi cael effaith ar ddarparu tai cymdeithasol carbon isel yng Nghymru.

Lansiwyd y fenter ym mis Ebrill 2018 dan arweiniad Cyngor Sir Powys. Fe’i hariannwyd gan Lywodraeth Cymru a Rhaglen Datblygu Wledig yr Undeb Ewropeaidd a'i chwblhau ym mis Mawrth 2021. Cyflwynwyd y prosiect ymchwil gan Woodknowledge Wales gyda phartneriaid prosiect Prifysgol Metropolitan Caerdydd, Coed Cymru a BM TRADA.

Ar hyn o bryd mae'r Prosiect yn edrych ar gam pellach a fydd yn ceisio gweithredu dysgu Cartrefi o Bren Lleol ar raddfa ehangach.

Ddydd Mawrth, 6 Gorffennaf, clywodd y Cabinet fod ffrwyth y prosiect arloesol wedi dylanwadu ar adeiladwyr tai, awdurdodau lleol a chymdeithasau tai sy'n ystyried defnyddio pren i adeiladu cartrefi fforddiadwy a chartrefi eraill i gyrraedd eu targedau lleihau carbon.

Yn ystod y prosiect, mae cymdeithasau tai fel Tai Wales & West wedi mabwysiadu polisïau sy'n gwneud pren yn ddeunydd dewis cyntaf ar gyfer eu rhaglen adeiladu. Mae hwn yn debyg i Bolisi Annog Defnyddio Coed y cyngor ei hun.

Clywodd y Cabinet hefyd fod Llywodraeth Cymru wedi nodi pren yn ei gofynion Ansawdd Datblygu drafft ar gyfer tai cymdeithasol newydd. Mae am i bren fod yn ddeunydd o ddewis ar gyfer darparu cartrefi carbon isel sy'n effeithlon o ran ynni. Daw hyn i gyd yn sgil y prosiect.

Dywedodd y Cynghorydd Iain McIntosh, Aelod y Cabinet ar faterion Tai, Cynllunio ac Adfywio Economaidd:

"Yn ystod ei oes, ry’n ni wedi gweld cydweithio llwyddiannus fel rhan o’r prosiect. Mae wedi galluogi'r cyngor i adeiladu ar berthnasau gydag adrannau amrywiol Llywodraeth Cymru gan gynnwys Tai, Coedwigaeth a'r Economi yn ogystal â sefydliadau fel Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru. Mae pob un o’r rhain wedi'u cynrychioli ar grŵp llywio'r prosiect.

"Trwy noddi prosiect Cartrefi o Bren Lleol ry’n ni’n dangos ein rôl arweiniol gadarnhaol o ran lleihau ôl troed carbon ein cartrefi fforddiadwy. Ni yw'r unig gyngor yng Nghymru a'r DU - ac un o’r ychydig rhai yn Ewrop - gyda Pholisi Annog Coed.

"Mae Llywodraeth Cymru’n ystyried cyllid ar gyfer Cam Dau prosiect Cartrefi o Bren Lleol. Bwriad y cam yma fydd dylanwadu ar bolisi i ddatblygu pren o Gymru ar gyfer cynnyrch fel ffenestri pren ac inswleiddio ffibr pren."