Councillor to tour eco-friendly development

Councillor Andrew Waller will today one of the prototype homes on Temple Avenue, which have been built by Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust to test different construction methods for their future developments, including the major Derwenthorpe housing project.

He will be joined by Yorkshire and Humber MEP Diana Wallis, who worked closely with York Council in Brussels to resolve the apparent delays to the Derwenthorpe project.

The 540-home development at Osbaldwick was stalled while the European Commission investigated a York Council decision to sell the site to the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust without going out to open tender.

Coun Waller will also be shown around a property on Temple Avenue, which showcases what can be done to improve energy efficiency on older homes.

York Council's environmentally-friendly buildings include the pioneering EcoDepot that houses the neighbourhood services department.

This 8m project – which is the largest building of its kind in Europe and opened in December 2006– has incorporated green technologies such as a rainwater harvesting, solar panels and a wind turbine

Coun Waller said he was keen to learn from the prototypes.

"The Derwenthorpe development is just one of a number of schemes in the city where eco-construction techniques are being pioneered. The York EcoDepot is a flagship building which shows what can be done to improve energy efficiency in offices and how sustainable building techniques can be employed on larger buildings.

"We also have a number of developments in the pipeline that will see more sustainable homes being built in the city.

"I am looking forward to hearing about the findings so far from the prototype houses and will be looking into how we can encourage more builders to use the techniques developed on these flagship schemes," he said.