We aim to build homes to the highest environmental standards - such as the Association for Environment Conscious Building Gold Standard. This should mean they are so well insulated that they don't need central heating, and energy bills are minimal. We will include solar water heating, wood-burners and hopefully other forms of renewable energy. The homes will have plenty of natural light and gain heat from the sun.

We will be using natural or recycled building materials with an emphasis on aesthetics and durability and avoiding PVC, formaldehyde etc. We expect to collect rainwater from our rooftops and depending on the site we may have a system for dealing with human waste such as reedbeds or composting.

We will think beyond the buildings in terms of environmental impacts. That might lead to a car club or organic vegetable deliveries for example. Shared facilities will mean that some things, from washing machines to lawnmowers do not need to be owned by every household.

In all, we want to design a neighbourhood where it is very easy to live a sustainable lifestyle.

A community built on ecological values - What does this mean in practice? (14Kb)