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Work on green village could begin next year
FRESH details have emerged of plans to build Britain's biggest carbon-neutral village in the heart of Peterborough, with developers confident work can begin as early as next year.
FRESH details have emerged of plans to build Britain's biggest carbon-neutral village in the heart of Peterborough, with developers confident work can begin as early as next year.New drawings show the revolutionary eco-friendly housing estate, set to be built on derelict industrial land neighbouring Peterborough United’s London Road ground, in more detail than ever before.
The so-called South Bank Masterplan maps out a new community of 344 homes on the former Elliott Group factory yard, including orchards, allotments, communal gardens and a green power plant providing electricity and hot water to every household.
Plans have also been revealed to extend the development on to the land occupied by Posh’s stadium if a relocation scheme goes ahead, as well as across the Peterborough to Cambridge railway line as far as the banks of the River Nene.
People will be given the chance to view the drawings at a consultation event being held at London Road next Wednesday.
City development agency Opportunity Peterborough hopes a planning application can be submitted later this year with preliminary building work set to get under way in 2010 for completion within four years.
If planning approval is granted, developers are confident that not even the credit crunch can stand in the way of the work going ahead.
Opportunity Peterborough’s director of technical operations Phil Harker said: “This is going to be the largest zero-carbon site in the UK and we’re hopeful it will be the first to be built in the country as well. We are moving ahead with this all guns blazing.
“When we were looking at tenders for the project, the market was starting to decline and the developers knew how the economy was shaping up when they submitted their bids.
“We came up with the plans for the current financial climate and the developers knew what they were getting into. We are very confident it is going to be delivered to schedule.”
The project has been developed as part of the national Carbon Challenge scheme, which is aimed at encouraging the house-building industry to respond to climate change.
It will be built by a consortium of housing developers known as pPod and, once complete, will require no energy from the national grid, with all hot water and electricity coming from a combination of solar panels and a bio-fuel power plant on site.
With a nod to its countryside surroundings, it will also include an innovative “dyke and fen” system to provide drainage and extra visual appeal.
But despite its environmental credentials, Mr Harker said the development was not being built as a settlement just for eco-activists.
He said: “They are going to be simple homes for ordinary people to live in. Because they will be carbon-neutral, the bills will be cheaper as well.”
Plans are also being developed to expand the development to take in the site of Posh’s London Road home and industrial land between the railway line and the river, with hundreds more homes, as well as shops and community facilities, potentially in the pipeline.
The South Bank Masterplan goes on display to the public at Peterborough United’s Executive Suite next Wednesday between 11am and 7pm.
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