Blog

With environmental issues a hot topic right now and the role of energy efficient buildings on the path to net-zero a key agenda item for COP26, it is not surprising that homeowners are trying to do what they can to make their property more energy efficient.

With the US now giving the official stamp of approval for the Pfizer vaccine for children aged five to 11, it might not be long before children of a similar age in the UK are offered a COVID vaccine. Currently in the UK, the COVID vaccine is being offered to children aged 12-15. The vaccine is not mandatory, and parents who have parental responsibilities and rights will be asked to give their consent to the vaccine. But what happens if parents disagree about how best to protect their children against the virus?

The past year stay and the subsequent changes to our lifestyles, has triggered a boom in home improvements, with over 80% of homeowners planning to make changes to their homes in the next 12 months. Paint sales went through the roof in the lockdowns as we took to freshening up our home décor, and now tradespeople are like gold dust should we want to install a new bathroom or kitchen. Many of those now working from home indefinitely are finding themselves cramped with their laptop in their bedroom, or huddled around the dining room table with little separation between work mode and living space, so it is not surprising there has been an increased appetite from people to extend their property.

Never before have our gardens and outside spaces meant so much to us. Previously abandoned pieces of waste land suddenly became the centrepieces to our social lives during lockdown and Covid restrictions, where we met with friends and family. Budding gardeners are popping up all round the country, planting tomatoes, pruning bushes, growing trees, making our gardens an extension of our homes.