Plans unveiled for UK's first eco-village

Government plans for the UK's first eco-village have begun to take shape.

The housing minister, Yvette Cooper, today revealed Barratt Developments had been chosen by the department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) as its preferred bidder to build the development.

The government also detailed the eco-village will be built at the site of the former Hanham Hall Hospital near Bristol and will conform to the government's most exacting eco-standard - level six of the Code for Sustainable Homes.

"We have set a world-beating target that all new homes must be zero carbon by 2016. People said this couldn't be done, but, in fact, this first Carbon Challenge site shows developers are already preparing to build the first major development of zero carbon homes," said Ms Cooper.

"We want to build more homes but also to higher standards. We've set up plans for ten eco-towns. These Carbon Challenge eco-villages are now leading the way, showing what can be done. This marks a revolution in the way we design and build homes."

The scheme forms part of government plans to build two million new homes in the UK before 2016.

It is hoped the eco initiative will alleviate housing shortages, which have pushed property prices out of reach for first-time buyers, while simultaneously working to reduce the country's carbon footprint.

Hanham Hall was the first site identified under the Carbon Challenge, being run by English Partnerships as part of the government's commitment to tackle climate change.

It is thought the Challenge will deliver zero carbon homes and communities well in advance of this becoming mandatory in 2016, and could also help the housebuilding sector demonstrate the targets are feasible as well as commercially viable.

"Barratt fully supports the zero carbon objective and we want to make as big a contribution as we can as quickly as we can," said Mark Clare, chief executive, Barratt Developments.

We are delighted to be asked to deliver this ground-breaking project, which will be the first large-scale zero carbon community in the country. It will enable a family occupying one of these homes to reduce their entire carbon footprint by 60 per cent."