Barratt contracted to build "UK's first" eco-village in Bristol

[Gerrard Winstanley]

Barratt contracted to build UK's first eco-village
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/dec/14/energyefficiency.energy1
          o Alison Benjamin
          o Guardian Unlimited,
          o Friday December 14 2007

Britain's biggest housebuilder is to build England's first
eco-village, the housing and planning minister, Yvette Cooper,
announced today.

Barratt has won the bid to create a new community at the site of the
former Hanham Hall hospital near Bristol, which has been commissioned
by the government's national regeneration agency, English Partnerships.

The village is expected to be built in three years' time, ahead of the
government's 2016 target, when it wants all new homes to be zero
carbon. The onsite biomass combined heat and power (CHP) plant will
deliver energy to all 200 homes.

The village also aims to create eco-friendly lifestyles. It will
capture rainwater and include sustainable drainage, farmers' shops, a
car club and bicycle storage.

Hanham Hall will be the first site to be built under the under the
Carbon Challenge initiative, run by English Partnerships as part of
the government's commitment to tackle climate change.

Cooper said: "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 that developers are
already preparing to build the first major development of zero carbon
homes.

The government is proposing to build 10 eco towns that will house up
to 20,000 new homeowners. Cooper said the smaller eco-villages would
aid the towns' development.

"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," she said.

Barratt, which is best known for its anonymous suburban "Barratt
boxes", last year opened an eco-smart show-village in Lancashire to
test small-scale renewable technologies including rooftop wind
turbines, solar thermal panels and CHP boilers.

Mark Clare, Barratt Developments' chief executive, said: "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%."

The housing minister also unveiled six shortlisted bidders for the
second Carbon Challenge site in Peterborough, and two new sites in
Wigan and Doncaster.

She said: "The challenge will deliver zero carbon homes and
communities and help the housebuilding sector demonstrate that the
targets are feasible and can be commercially viable."