The government is auctioning a former state-owned site for the location of the UK’s first carbon-neutral village. Five major house-builders are involved in the bidding process to build 150 new carbon-neutral houses. The site is on the outskirts of Bristol and has been dubbed ‘Hanham Hall’. This pilot project will allow the winning builder to test their energy efficient housing design and build. The whole scheme is expected to be completed in three years, a full six years before the government’s target date for carbon neutral housing.
The extra costs involved in the building of this development will be absorbed by the house-builder, but in the future, when all new houses will have to be carbon-neutral, I am sure the extra costs will be passed onto the buyers. The question I have is this, if the house-builders are able to build carbon-neutral houses now, using current technology, why has the government set a target date of 2016 to introduce legislation?
From: BEST OF 2008: Eco-friendy and sustainable shoes