'Zero bills' homes praised by housing secretary

A sustainable housing development promising "zero energy bills" should be the blueprint for new homes across the country, the government's housing secretary has said.

The site at Carpenters Yard in Epping, Essex, has 113 homes in a "pioneering microgrid community" where every house has a heat pump, solar panels and a centralised battery system to reduce energy bills to zero.

The development was built by private developer gs8 and was financed by Octopus Capital.

Steve Reed, the Secretary of State for Housing, said the Labour government was consulting on the "future homes standard" and asking "how we can make more homes capable of generating their own energy in the way that this development is?".

"If you move into one of the homes on this development, you'll have no energy bills for at least five years, possibly as long as 10 years," he said.

"It's going to be such a welcome change for people."

The full price of a two-bedroom property on the development has been set at £525,000.

Shared ownership options are available for 25–50%, inclusive of a 10% deposit.

Reed told the BBC the government had committed £39bn to build at least 300,000 social and affordable homes, with 60% available at social rents.

"You're not going to fix all the problems on one development," he said.

"We've got to look at this across the whole country. We will tackle this housing crisis."

Octopus Capital, a UK specialist real estate lender and investor, gave £20m to the developers gs8 through its "greener homes alliance", designed to support small and medium-sized housebuilders while encouraging greener building practices.

The technology was supplied by Octopus Energy.

Carpenters Yard will also feature an electric car and bike club along with a communal DIY and reuse centre.

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