What are your views of the government’s plan for 20 eco towns and its environmental issues in general?

A
Anything that improves a consumer’s way of life is right. Encouraging a green environment is a good thing and we welcome it. However, it is vital that the government keeps focused on the twin issue of place making, and community creation. It’s all very well house builders building houses, but successful communities are more than just collections of houses. Communities need shops, transport, schools, sustainable buildings, good roads, community and cultural spaces, including crèches so mums can go back to work if they wish. The danger if we get the issues surrounding the environment wrong is too great, but a focus on that alone will not create the communities our developments need to succeed.

Q

What upcoming legislation will affect developers?

A
I think environmental issues are a key element of all that we do right now. The government’s objective, when we are eventually at Code Level 6, is to have zero carbon houses – and that’s quite a challenge. We will have to use water more efficiently and we will need to utilise grey water, recycling and renewables. The house building industry only produces five per cent of the total housing stock, what about the other 95 per cent? What happens when the government says that you’ve got to insulate your house or put solar panels on your roof? You can’t push house builders to zero carbon on one hand and ignore the rest of the houses on the other. Eventually this will be everyone’s challenge. In terms of carbon and CO2 emissions, countries must lead by example, and I think, as a nation, we should be taking the lead.

Developers need to work with the government and local authorities to provide the homes required for tomorrow and we need to do this in a proactive way. We need to find a solution to Lifetime Homes, which I am committed to do, without the government needing to legislate.