Evening Standard New Homes Awards 2020: our search for the best eco-homes in London and beyond

Eco-housing, along with climate change, is now a priority with home buyers.

Nine out of 10 want sustainable housing, according to a recent Mori poll, and people will pay extra if they are convinced it is a good green build with style and comfort, that’s low on energy bills but high on design.

About 15 per cent of UK greenhouse gas emissions come from our homes, though on average new homes are six times more energy-efficient than older ones.

Developers who fail to rise to the green challenge risk being refused planning permission.

New homes have to comply with eco-ratings based on everything from how close they are to public transport to their thermal efficiency, how well they tackle recycling and whether they use sustainable materials.

In future, gas boilers and hobs are likely to be banned, with housing estates and flats kept warm by networks of hot water, says the Government’s advisory committee on climate change.

Water could be warmed by waste heat from industry or via heat pumps that draw warmth from the sea or lakes. These systems will work only if homes are super-insulated and require little heating.

Green housing is not just about technology, it is about how homes fit into the local environment and promote ecology. Developers are being told to set aside land for tree planting and allotments, and build green walls for birds and insects.

An eco-friendly housing estate in Norfolk is a “beacon of hope”, says the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Goldsmith Street, with 100 two-storey houses and flats in Norwich centre, is designed to be green to the smallest detail.

To reduce draughts, letter boxes are built into external porches rather than front doors. All homes face south to get as much sunlight as possible and they are run on a passive solar scheme that cuts energy bills by 70 per cent.

Walls are 60cm thick and roofs are tilted to avoid blocking sunlight to neighbouring houses. Back gardens share a secure play area for children.

While the creamy brick exterior resembles nearby traditional Victorian terraces, developers committed to green design are leaning towards contemporary architecture and using energy-efficient factory production.

Architecture has a big part to play in an eco-build.

“Architecture and ecology go hand in glove. Green architecture has raced ahead in recent years and the new levels of luxury in sustainable design are endless,” says Mike Bickerton, head of new homes at property consultant Cushman & Wakefield.

London architects have excelled at the extreme ends of the property market in recent years, designing stand-out homes for housing associations as well as big-budget properties.

The task for the next decade and beyond is to design affordable, green and attractive housing for all buyers.

Cube Haus has stepped into this void. Its mission is to serve up reasonably priced, high-design homes built on small or awkwardly shaped urban sites.

The company finds plots, appoints an architect, secures planning permission and brings the property forward for sale through estate agents The Modern House.

Modular — or prefabricated — design is being championed and chosen firms include innovative east London firm Carl Turner Architects, whose house on a garden plot in Asylum Road in Peckham sits back from the road, has two bedrooms, a double-height living space and enclosed courtyard. The price is £799,000.

For other projects, call 020 7739 2400 or visit cube-haus.co.uk.

Timber-and-glass homes built by Huf Haus are chic and contemporary, with no attic, so the interior seems to reach to the sky.

Everything is engineered, from the basic fabric of the house to the timber floors and white Corian sinks.

Call 01932 586550 or visit the sales centre at Brooklands, Surrey.

For the last three years, Lend Lease has topped the Next Generation report, which tracks sustainability among the UK’s 25 leading developers.

At Elephant Park in south-east London, Lend Lease has built a showpiece Energy Hub, or power plant, that delivers net zero-carbon heat and hot water to homes and doubles as a community café and children’s nursery.

Alongside apartment blocks are houses conforming to German “Passivhaus” construction standards, the most environmentally advanced in Europe.

A low-energy construction technique means the houses need little heating and consume 49 per cent less water than the average London home.

Triple-glazed, with an advanced airtightness that eliminates draughts, there is also a filtration system that removes dust, pollens and smoke.

Aided by sun screen shutters, in summer the houses are cool.

Set over three levels, these homes incorporate a small patio garden plus a roof terrace, and are woven into the wider estate of 3,000-plus homes.

Residents have access to communal rooftop “grow” gardens as well as a new two-acre park, the biggest in central London for 70 years.

Prices from £773,000. Call 020 3675 9955.

Park View, a new neighbourhood in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, is being built on land owned by Blenheim Estate, whose famous nearby palace is a Unesco World Heritage Site.

The project embeds the principles of Landowner Legacy, which stipulates that big landowners have a social, economic and moral responsibility to deliver sustainable developments that are good for the planet, use local materials and labour, and preserve the visual harmony of surrounding towns and villages.

Flats and houses are built in “vernacular” style, clad in mellow stone and with clay roof tiles.

Well-managed social housing fits in alongside, while Blenheim Estate controls public spaces, including a village green and play areas.

Prices start at £270,000. Call 01993 811881.

Tim and Megan Lewis were used to amazing views of San Francisco Bay, so when they relocated to London for work they sought out a home in a leafy, high-lying district with a great vista.

They bought a three-bedroom penthouse at Wells Park Place on Sydenham Hill, south-east London.

“Our home has fantastic natural light,” says Tim, 38, who works in the travel industry. “We’re surrounded by trees and greenery and can see from Battersea Power Station to Wembley Stadium. The sunsets are superb.

“We love the modern design and relaxed, open-plan layout, and didn’t want a high-maintenance garden because of our busy work lives. Instead we have a big terrace that is a seamless extension of the living space.”

Their home also overlooks a shared central garden.

Crest Nicholson, the developer, has an interactive website showing the “hidden” design and low-energy features of homes at the scheme.

Only townhouses are now for sale. Prices from £1.22 million. Call 020 3437 0472.