Housing and Planning Minister Yvette Cooper today announced details of the housebuilder who will build England's first eco-village.

Barratt Developments PLC has been selected by English Partnerships, the Government's National Regeneration Agency, as the preferred developer to create a new community at the site of the former Hanham Hall Hospital near Bristol. Homes on the site will meet the Government’s most exacting eco standard - Level 6 of the Code for Sustainable Homes.

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. The Challenge will deliver zero carbon homes and communities well in advance of this becoming mandatory 2016, and help the housebuilding sector demonstrate that the targets are feasible and can be commercially viable.


As well as zero-carbon homes this groundbreaking project will create eco lifestyles. It will hand over a listed building to community use, capture rainwater and include sustainable drainage, farmers' shops, a car club and bicycle storage.

Yvette 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.

"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."

(JM)