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News: Monday, February 8, 2010
UK Housing Minister John Healey Backs the Country's Biggest Ever Green Home Building Program
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UK Housing Minister John Healey today backed the country's biggest ever green home building program, with four areas sharing £60m cash to build over 600 new homes to the toughest ever environmental standards.
These new 'eco-show homes' will be built in and around the four pioneering eco-town locations, introducing nearly 2,000 people to green living.
Last year Mr Healey gave the go-ahead for the first wave of world leading eco-town sites in Whitehill-Bordon in Hampshire, St Austell in Cornwall, Rackheath in Norfolk and North West Bicester in Oxfordshire.
By 2016, 10,000 eco homes will be built in the four landmark areas. The new homes and new neighbourhoods will be designed, planned and built to world leading environmental standards.
The intention is to give people a first-hand look at the latest technology like smart meters to track energy use, electric car charging points, properly insulated homes built to the toughest ever standards and systems for saving water and recycling or 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.
The funding is a major boost for the councils driving forward the innovative blueprints for the main eco-towns in their "masterplans", before seeking public approval and planning permission.
"Last year I gave the go-ahead to the first wave of world-leading eco-towns that will set the global standard for green living while helping tackle climate change and the shortage of affordable homes," Healy said. "Since then these four areas have done a huge amount of work to plan new homes designed and built to the toughest ever environmental standards. Today I'm backing them with £60m to help get these projects off the ground."
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