CML news & views

Fifteen sites have been identified by the government as possible locations for its planned ‘eco towns,’ housing minister Caroline Flint has announced. Most of the sites are brownfield land, including military depots and other land owned by the Ministry of Defence, disused airfields, former mining pits and industrial sites. None of the homes are to be built on Green Belt land. 

The government has said it wants to build a total of 10 eco towns by 2016. So far, standards of environmental performance for eco towns have not been established. In her recent announcement, Caroline Flint said the government wanted 30% of the homes in eco towns to be affordable housing.  

The announcement of possible locations is only the first stage. Each site will now be the subject of consultation with the public, local authorities and other stakeholders. 

Lenders support the broad aspiration of improving the environmental performance of housing. But there are numerous challenges for the government, and for developers who will have to deliver ‘affordable eco homes.’ 

A fundamental requirement is that they must be attractive to buyers, in design, quality and location. Cost is another issue. Will they be more expensive to produce and supply than ‘normal’ homes? If so, how can a significant proportion of them be made ‘affordable’? And given existing affordability constraints, will buyers be able – or want – to pay a premium for the rest?

Meanwhile, earlier this week, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) reminded us of another environmental objective for new housing when it called for a new flood resilience kitemark for housing developments in floodplains. It wants the kitemark to underpin minimum construction standards, including the use of water-resistant building materials. The government’s goal of building three million homes by 2022 was in jeopardy unless they could be made more resistant to flooding, the ABI said.