Housing Minister Announces £60 Million for New Energy Efficient Homes

It now seems that the Housing Minister, John Healey, has announced a £60 million fund to build over 600 new energy efficient eco homes. The money is going to be split between four different locations. These sites were named as the first wave of eco town sites in the UK last year. The areas chosen for the project are Whitehill-Bordon in Hampshire, St Austell in Cornwall, Rackheath in Norfolk and North West Bicester in Oxfordshire.

The chief executive of the Town and Country Planning Association, Kate Hederson, said that this first phase of new homes, including state of the art eco show homes, will actually be able to provide real life examples of green living. For once people will be able to see what kind of homes are open to the public. This will provide a vital role in giving local residents first hand experience of low carbon living.

Right now it is hoped that by 2016 the number of eco homes built in the area will have increased to 10,000, with designs aiming to provide world leading environmental standards. The towns are also suppose to include zero carbon schools and accessible public transportation to add to their green lifestyle.

Overall, it is clear to see that these areas are going to be set up to help the UK reach its goals on making a low carbon country. Although these new areas are going to help, experts say that this is not enough to reach the goals that the UK has set for itself. However, it is hoped that this idea will catch on and spread across the county and possibly into other countries as well.