08 February 2010
Source: LGN (Local Government News is distributed on a monthly basis and provides the latest independent news and information on building, urban space and groundcare. Having joined the HIS stable of local government publications in 2007, Local Government News is designed to keep professional officers in local government abreast of up-to-date legislative changes and interpretations of central government policy )

Eco-towns get started with 60m for 'eco-show-homes'


James Evison

Eco-town work is underway with housing minister John Healey providing £60m for 600 new eco-town homes in the largest construction of low carbon housing to date.

The new "eco-show homes" will be built in four eco-town locations announced last year in Hampshire, Cornwall, Norfolk and Oxfordshire. Nearly a third of these homes will be affordable.

Housing minister John Healey
Healey:  cash will also help 'transform local schools and create new transport links and energy sources'
The cash could also potentially create 2000 local jobs, including apprenticeships to help advance green building skills.

Products in homes will include smart meters, electric car charging points, and systems for water-saving and composting waste.

The funding will also improve existing transport links, including rapid routes for buses with real-time travel information, green travel hubs and facilities for electric cars and bikes.

Pioneering new energy projects will be set up so that residents take their energy from natural sources.

Funding will also be used for environmental education projects.

Housing Minister John Healey said: ‘This is the start of the country’s biggest ever eco-home building programme.

'But green living isn't just about homes. That's why this cash will also help transform local schools and create new transport links and energy sources. Local workers, including apprentices, will help build these pioneering homes and other projects.'

Responding to the announcement, TCPA Interim Chief Executive Kate Henderson said: ‘This first phase of new homes, including state-of the-art 'eco-show homes', will provide real life examples of green living that are open to the public, providing a vital role in giving local residents first hand experience of low carbon living.’



Your comments

Is there anything at all in this scheme that really differentiates the estates with those built before? What is special about "rapid buses" - more bendy buses on reservations, perhaps rather than really eco friendly light rail. Will the new towns cater for local people or for those migrating from London and other major cities and will there be jobs as well? Is this just another way of justifying construcction in green belts?

alan douglas, EADC Consultants, Added: Tuesday, 9 February 2010 03:06 PM

To be welcomed - but it will be depressing if all the focus is yet again on engineering solutions. There needs to be an emphasis on being able to work at home, or work locally in work hubs, and being able to access local services. Otherwise we'll end up with greener homes and greener offices - but still a requirement to consume tons of resources travelling in between. Will the eco-homes help us to green working practices as well?

Andy Lake, Editor, Flexibility.co.uk, Added: Tuesday, 9 February 2010 02:43 PM



 Back     Top of page

Advert