RIBA Building of the year in Balsall Heath - and more on St Mary's

I was really pleased to read, in the Birmingham Post this week, that John Christophers' Zero Carbon House, in Tindal Street, Balsall Heath has won an
RIBA award as Best Building of the Year.

I mentioned the Zero Carbon House in blogs on March 23rd this year, and November 14th last year. Each time I have visited the house, first during the building works and a couple of times since completion, I have been impressed by the simple effectiveness of the design and the quality of the craftwork. I am now equally impressed that the Royal Institute of British Architects, which gives awards to well designed and well built buildings, recognises that this simple effective design makes the Zero Carbon House a building of the year, rather than the usual, high profile, high cost buildings.

John Christophers has demonstrated that high energy efficiency can be achieved in a brick house built in 1840 with solid walls, as well as in the imaginative extension - please check the links to see photos and read more about it.

John has given helpful advice to SusMo and St Mary's Church, about ways of overcoming objections to the installation of PV panels on the nave roof of St Mary's. I have mentioned this project many times in this blog in the past year. We have hoped, a couple of times, that the last hurdle has been overcome, that instructions for the installation of the panels can be given, but each time another hurdle has grown.

I wrote, on October 31st, that the Chancellor had allowed 21 days for formal objections to be submitted and would then hold a Consistory Court to hear the objections. 21 days passed by without a formal objection being submitted.

Many days later I phoned the Chancellor's office to find out how soon the Chancellor would resolve this matter. I was surprised to hear that the Chancellor has now written to another body, the Church Buildings Council - an amenity society based in London - giving them 21 days to reply with their comments.

I hope that this will be the last delay caused by the Diocese for the installation of panels which will create, not only free electricity for the church, but also income both to keep the church in good repair plus a contribution to the local community for further community projects creating renewable energy.

When permission has been granted by the Chancellor, the church still has to raise about £20,000 as the grant from the British Gas Green Street award does not cover the full cost, and fundraising cannot begin until permission has been granted and British Gas finalises the design and the costs.

Updates will be given on the Moseley Forum website.