Sustainability should be key to new town
A NEW organisation has said the material and infrastructure of the new community should be as sustainable as possible.
The Devon Sustainable Building Initiative has said Cranbrook should be developed to make the best use of energy saving technology to make the houses as efficient as possible.
The group has said the development does not compare favourably with a similar proposal near Plymouth.
Its director, Gareth Walton, said although the Plymouth development is not as advanced in planning terms, the developers were looking at ideas to develop it in a sustainable way.
He said: "The developers are holding workshops with interested parties to develop a sustainable plan and they are doing really well.
"That is the sort of benchmark that we should be setting in Devon and beyond.
"There is a lot of misunderstanding and misapprehension about sustainable building.
"You hear from the general public and industry that sustainable development cannot be done because it is too expensive or is not feasible yet.
"It does not cost an arm and a leg to build in a sustainable way."
He said the water efficiency of the homes should be looked at to make sure it was not wasted.
He said: "In Cranbrook we would like to see the developments be as sustainable as possible and make sure they are insulated properly.
"Solar panels to heat water on each house or at a town level could be considered.
"We want all communities to be beacons of sustainability for the county and region.
"We are concerned it will not be a sustainability beacon, which it should be."
Derek Spreckward of Taylor Woodrow, one of the new community developers, said: Cranbrook's developers will happily comply with the changes to the building regulations being introduced next year, which are aimed at improving the sustainability of building in the UK."
The group held a seminar on energy technology use in new developments at Exeter University on Tuesday, September 27.
Chaired by East Devon's MP Hugo Swire, the seminar included information about government policies with examples of case studies of developments that had successfully integrated them.
|
|
|
|
|
|