GOVERNMENT ALLOCATES £60M FOR 'ECO SHOW HOMES'

10 February 2010

The new 'eco-show homes' will be built in and around the first four eco-town locations at Whitehill-Bordon in Hampshire, St Austell in Cornwall, Rackheath in Norfolk and North West Bicester in Oxfordshire.

The funding will be used to improve existing transport links, including rapid routes for buses, green travel hubs and facilities for electric cars and bikes. It will also provide a new 'low carbon sixth form' for a school in Bicester and to install technology like smart meters to track energy use, electric car charging points, home insulation and systems for saving water and recycling or composting waste.

The allocation will see Whitehill-Bordon receive £12.675-16.675m, Rackheath £11.95-15.95m, St Austell £11.85-15.85m and North West Bicester £11.51-15.51m. The specific amounts are still to be decided pending further assessment of development agreements with investors.

Housing and planning minister, John Healey, said: "This is the start of the country's biggest ever eco-home building programme. As a first step, 600 will be built in these four areas - most will be for sale but some will be permanent eco-show homes.

"By 2016 there will be 10,000 new eco homes in these four pioneering areas. This means people will be able to experience green living for themselves and see how it can change their lives and save money."

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.

"This is an opportunity to show how eco-towns can meet the needs and aspirations of ordinary people seeking a decent home in a good environment. These pilots will need to appeal to all as much for their utility, location and setting as for their green credentials."