Peterborough council identifying sites for new 'eco homes' as part of £2m environmental project

Identifying appropriate sites for new ‘eco homes’ in Peterborough will be the next phase of the £2m project, the council says.

The project will see homes built with heat pumps rather than boilers, better insulation for winter and ventilation for summer and electric vehicle charging points where possible.

Peterborough City Council (PCC) has already allocated the cash needed for this in its budget and will next focus on project delivery, it says.

One of the ways in which it will do this is by finding appropriate sites; another is by assessing how its new Local Plan could require developers to exceed national minimum building regulations standards.

The council began a review of its Local Plan, which contains its overarching planning policy as well as sites earmarked for development, in January this year.

It will also assess the most “appropriate” way to deliver the project; either by itself or in partnership with another organisation.

Monitoring of the project’s impact could be undertaken by Peterborough’s new university, it suggests.

PCC’s eco homes project was prompted by a Government initiative – the Future Homes Standard – which is intended to update building regulations to lower carbon emissions in the home.

Numerous interim changes have been brought in, with a full report of all the changes expected next year.

PCC says that building eco homes will help it towards its climate and growth goals as well as its housing targets.

As of August 2023, 2,622 households were on its housing register, it says in a report.

It’s as of yet unclear how many eco homes will be built, but a new group of council officers from across the property, planning, public health, finance, environment and housing departments is in the process of being established to drive forward the plans.