Part E steering group members (l to r): HBF technical director Dave Baker; Napier University dean of faculty Robin MacKenzie; Les Fothergill of the ODPM Building Regulations division; chair and Ward Homes chief executive David Holliday; project manager Sean Smith of Napier University<p></p><p><b><b>The housebuilding industry has just six months to show the government that it can build homes that satisfy new sound regulations. Otherwise the spectre of sound testing will return. Allison Heller checks on progress</b></b><br><b>Panic struck the housebuilding world in early 2001 when the government unveiled plans to amend Part E of the Building Regulations and tighten up sound insulation requirements. The main bone of contention was the proposal that compliance with new standards for dwellings&amp;’ insulation against airborne and impact noise would need to be tested, post construction. One in ten dwellings would require testing, and the high cost of this exercise - estimated by the government to be up to &amp;£2,000 per attached dwelling - was to be fully borne by the industry.</b><br><b><b>robust response</b></b><br> The House Builders&amp;’ Federation&amp;’s representations that this method of ensuring compliance is inefficient and unnecessarily expensive has won them the opportunity to prepare a set of robust standard details (RSD) of various forms …