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The Green Home

Date of speech	15 May 2008
Location	BRE Innovation Park, Watford
Event summary	Opening of the Barrett Green House

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Draft text of the speech - may differ from the delivered version.

It's no exaggeration to say that England is now a world leader in green building. While climate change threatens countries around the world, we are the first to seize the initiative, transforming the way that we plan, design and build.

But though the leadership is coming from government, it is housebuilders who are making it happen. And they are not only signing up to the distant goals for 2016 - they are making it happen today.

That just shows the creativity and the dynamism that are the defining principles of British industry.

Of course, the housing market is now facing challenges that are different than when we first set out the zero carbon target.

But I firmly believe that long-term need, not short-term market conditions, must set the direction.

Yesterday, we announced measures to help more people get onto the property ladder for the first time. For example, our shared equity schemes are now open to all those with a household income of below £60 000. The Housing Corporation will be able to spend up to £200 million buying new properties for shared equity schemes or social rent.

And the Bank of England recently announced a £50 billion scheme to improve liquidity in the financial markets.

So across government, we are taking a proactive approach to maintain a stable housing market.

And we will continue to work with builders and lenders to address their concerns.

But with historically low interest rates and high employment, the conditions are right for a healthy housebuilding industry over the long term.

The demand for new housing is still there. And prices are still far beyond the reach of many potential first time buyers and growing families.

At the same time, we must continue to develop the quality of housing that families will need in the future.

"A green home doesn't have to look like something out of the Jetsons. It can also epitomise good design that is comfortable to live with."

And the commitment among industry to develop a new generation of greener housing is incredibly positive.

Stuart in particular is an active and vocal champion of this goal, and his contribution is vitally important. Mark too is playing a major role, making sustainability central to everything that Barratts is doing.

In particular, the work that he has done as Chair of the group looking at the definition of zero carbon has been absolutely invaluable.

We need to come up with a challenging but achievable definition - one that sets the bar as high as possible but without restricting innovation or frustrating development.

I am very grateful to the work that he and his colleagues on the group have done on this critical question - putting together a comprehensive and authoritative report.

Mark's presentation on the issues to myself and colleagues at BERR and DEFRA was really useful and thought-provoking.

We are now using this report to define the questions we'll need to work together to address through our full public consultation later in the summer.

"With the potential for significant savings on fuel bills, greener living must be something that is within reach of everyone, not just those with the time and money to fit their homes with the latest gadgets."

But today, I'm delighted to be with you to celebrate the work that Barratt have done in creating this house.

This award winning design isn't just a sterile showcase, using interesting but expensive ideas which might 'wow' people but don't have any use in practice.

This building is designed to be lived in - accessible and relevant for ordinary families.

It will show people that a green home doesn't have to look like something out of the Jetsons. It can also epitomise good design that is comfortable to live with.

And it has something for everyone - wi-fi for the teenagers, a play room for the kids - though without the need for expensive, energy consuming tumble dryers.

I think that's essential. With the potential for significant savings on fuel bills, greener living must be something that is within reach of everyone, not just those with the time and money to fit their homes with the latest gadgets.

Indeed, I understand that the lessons learned from this project are already informing Barratts latest designs and so are having an immediate impact.

So I think this is an outstanding example of industry initiative - recognising the commercial opportunities on offer and responding.

Of course, this is not an isolated example. There are outstanding initiatives on display across the BRE park, and I am looking forward to seeing some of this for myself.

Out in the wider world, housebuilders have registered to have 40,000 homes rated against the Code for Sustainable homes, with the first assessments now being carried out.

The first homes for sale at code level four and five are also now ready.

Nor is this a one-off for Barratts.

They are leading the development work at Hanham Hall to create the UKs first eco-village, where all homes will be built to code level six.

This forms part of our Carbon Challenge, which will pioneer the designs and technology that will be so important to making eco-towns a success.

So what's critical now is that we build on this momentum and start moving from excellent individual projects to raising the standard across all developments.

Of course, it's a big ask. It requires co-ordination and co-operation across the industry.

Work is already under way to set up a delivery unit to guide and monitor the zero carbon programme.

We are going to provide funding to help the unit in the early stages. And we are currently working out the details of how this will operate.

I want to conclude by congratulation Mark and all the team at Barratts who have got this design off the drawing board. And I very much look forward to seeing it for myself.