Why thatched roofs have carbon concerns

I am in the third year of a part-time PhD, researching stakeholder conflict and its impact on the management and use of reedbeds within the UK. My family background is thatching and, while I didn’t end up as a thatcher, it’s a craft I find fascinating. This interest extends into the supply chain. 

As a boy, a lot of my weekends were spent travelling up to How Hill in Norfolk to collect loads of reed with my dad, grandad and brother. As we got into the 1990s the number of trips decreased significantly, with us now getting reed delivered directly to the yard, with the vast majority being imported from continental Europe. 

While I was completing my undergrad dissertation I discovered that UK-grown reed now accounted for only 10% of overall consumption. My appetite was whetted but at the time I wasn’t in a position to take this further. Thankfully, when I started work at Solent University, my line manager was supportive of me undertaking a PhD to investigate these causes and the impact.

There are a variety of reasons. The vast majority of thatched buildings in the UK are listed. Historic England has a like-for-like policy when it comes to rethatching listed buildings: ie, if reed was on the roof then it needs to be rethatched with reed. This means there is an ongoing demand for good quality reed. A thatched roof should be extremely sustainable – however, with 90% of reed having thousands of carbon miles attached to it, it really does detract from its sustainability. 

Having a greater understanding of the causes of conflict will help the different stakeholder groups develop solutions to these problems, which should equate to more jobs. Over the past few years global events such as covid, the war in Ukraine and the Houthis attacking merchant shipping in the Red Sea mean that reed prices have fluctuated significantly. A more consistent and greater UK supply will help settle the price of reed.

The vast majority of research to date on reedbeds has either focused on it as a habitat or ecosystem, for sewage and wider waste water treatment or for different uses for the cut reed. A lot of research does acknowledge the presence of conflict and outlined some of the causes, but there has yet to be any in-depth research on how these conflicts are impacting on the management and use of reedbeds. 

Given the age of current policy surrounding the use of UK reedbeds and requirements around stakeholder engagement for environmental land management payments, this will provide new insights.  

How wide is the gap between research and industrial application? How important is it to maintain the links between academia and professional practice? And how can we meet these challenges?

I don’t believe the gap is significant but the biggest challenge is effective dissemination of research. The majority of the industry aren’t reading academic journal articles or attending conferences so we need to look at how we can convey our work to those at the coal face so it can be utilised.

Academia does also need to remember that there is always an opportunity cost to trialling new ways of working and that, if it doesn’t work, it can cost a company a lot of money.

It is really important to keep the links alive so we can continue to support industry solving the broad range of challenges that it is facing.

I came into academia after 20 years in the Royal Engineers, so the past seven years have been a bit of a whirlwind. I initially came into education teaching Level 3 surveying technician apprentices, prior to becoming a programme delivery manager for the Chartered Surveyor degree apprenticeship and moving to Solent University just before lockdown, as a senior lecturer.

Now I’m leading all of the construction management, quantity surveying and civil engineering courses. It’s certainly provided a lot of opportunity for personal growth and development. You do have to be at the top of your game and you do need to be willing to be challenged. 

It’s been extremely rewarding, both in terms of educating the future of the industry as well as being a member of the trailblazer groups for both the construction site supervisor and construction site manager apprenticeship standards. 

While understandably there is a lot of focus at the operational level of teaching, you have to think strategically about the future needs of the industry, how you develop your courses to meet those needs and how you position yourself in the market. l  

If you’re interested in academic membership visit ciob.org/membership/become-a-member/educator.