English Partnerships (EP) is a step closer to building its first village of zero-carbon homes with the announcement of the shortlisted developers and architects.

The teams, which are bidding to build 150 homes on a 6.1ha site in Bristol, are: Artisan H with Feilden Clegg Bradley Architects; Barratt Homes with HTA; Edward Ware Homes with Acanthus Ferguson Mann Architects; Gleeson Homes with Proctor and Matthews; Places for People with PRP Architects; Taylor Wimpey with Broadway Malyan; and Urban Splash (South West).

The project is the first in EP’s Carbon Challenge competition. A second site in Bristol will come to market later this year.

Meanwhile, industry bodies met the communities department this week to discuss a draft of the climate change planning policy statement. Both the British Property Federation (BPF) and the Home Builders Federation have called for the scrapping of the “Merton Rule”, where councils set specific on-site renewable energy targets for developments.

Liz Peace, chief executive of the BPF, said: “The industry must not be straightjacketed.”

Topics