new communities

October 5, 2010 - Paradigm Housing hopes to collect a fourth award for its eco-community in Hayes. The scheme meets the stringent Level 5 Code for Sustainable Homes. It has sedum growing on the curved roof of each of its five low-level apartment blocks, solar panels provide extra electricity and rainwater is reused to flush the toilets. more >

July 29, 2010 - Councils and developers could be given much more flexibility to meet ambitious eco-standards to ensure all new homes are zero carbon from 2016, Housing Minister Grant Shapps has said. It comes as part of the Coalition Government's ambition for an eco-friendly economy and to become the greenest government ever. more >

July 12, 2010 - Funding for the first four of Gordon Brown's eco-towns has been slashed by 50 per cent, while plans for a further six developments have also been dropped. News of the funding cuts was broken to the local authorities overseeing the four eco-towns in an email from housing minister Grant Shapps last week. more >

June 21, 2010 - Six One Earth Homes, located on the Upton development (large scale, multi-developer site), three miles outside of Northampton town centre, have been certified, as the UK's first, open-market, Code Level 6 homes. Read the latest Code for Sustainable Homes case studies from CLG, March 2010... more >

April 6, 2010 - Housing and Planning Minister John Healey has confirmed that a partnership of councils in Essex have expressed an interest using world-leading eco-town standards. The funding will also go towards studies in how to improve existing transport links, including options such as rapid routes for buses with real-time travel information, green travel hubs and facilities for electric cars and bikes. ... more >

March 24, 2010 - The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has approved plans for a major regeneration project, which will create a new town centre at Brent Cross in Cricklewood, north London. The proposals from the Brent Cross Cricklewood development partners, Brookfield Europe (formerly Multiplex), Hammerson and Standard Life Investments, also include a commitment to environmental sustainability. more >

March 9, 2010 - Housing and Planning Minister John Healey has announced a triple boost for councils tackling climate change by updating planning rules, granting nearly £10million to improve green skills and backing further progress by the 'second wave' of eco-towns. more >

February 25, 2010 - Sir Bob Kerslake, chief executive of the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), has welcomed the recent joint CLG/DEFRA announcement that 36 rural councils are to be supported with £1m of cash and expert support to help them design and plan thousands of new homes. more >

January 31, 2010 - The Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) has published new guidance, sponsored by Government, entitled Developing energy efficient and zero carbon strategies for eco-towns. more >

December 7, 2009 - Potential sites for a second wave of eco-towns were announced this week, with local authorities receiving £10m to design the low-carbon developments. Nine authorities or groups of councils are involved in the latest bids, including some whose plans were rejected when the first four eco-towns were announced in July. more >