Will the Minister make a statement on the funding of the second phase of Home Grown Homes Wales?
The Home Grown Homes project was an exciting research project delivered by Wood Knowledge Wales, on behalf of Powys Council, which was funded by the Rural Development Programme. The project ran for 33 months and was completed in March 2021. It identified how Wales could build zero carbon homes from timber in a way which accelerates over time. The project pointed to benefits in forestry creation and management, timber processing, the manufacture and assembly of new homes from timber and the use of timber in retrofitting existing homes.
Following the Deputy Minister for Climate Change’s deep dive into trees and timber we are working on a timber industrial strategy. This will identify actions across the supply chain to develop a wood economy and increase the use of timber in construction. Consideration of a second phase of the Home Grown Homes project will take place as part of this development.