Where to buy an eco-friendly home: new London developments with shared ownership, Help to Buy, outside space and cycle storage

When shopping for a new home in London, what should buyers be looking for to ensure it is truly eco-friendly, and where should they look?

Biophilic design is the connection between buildings and nature — for example, greening a scheme with plants to help purify the air.

Thamesmead, a poorly connected post-war housing estate, is being transformed.

There is more green space per resident than anywhere else in London. Meanwhile, connections are set for massive improvement. Crossrail, when it arrives, will get residents into the West End in 25 minutes.

The housing association Peabody is building 1,600-home Southmere Village, the first phase of the South Thamesmead and Abbey Wood Housing zone.

New homes will overlook Southmere Lake where 4,500 tons of silt is being removed to create a wetlands area for wildlife. Fishing platforms are being added this summer, with a new footpath and a wild meadow.

One-, two- and three-bedroom apartments will be delivered as well as three- and four-bedroom townhouses, with a new public square, library, gym and a café. Sales will launch in the autumn with shared-ownership homes available.

Artist Anna Harvey bought 25 per cent of a one-bedroom shared-ownership flat at The Reach in West Thamesmead for £68,750.

She was drawn to the inspiring outside space. “The best part of living here is the greenery and the river,” she says.

If you buy a shared-ownership home at The Reach this summer, you will receive £1,000 towards a new bicycle. Call 020 7021 4842 for information.

Energy efficiency is one of the main selling features of the Wardian London development by EcoWorld Ballymore in Canary Wharf.

The two towers have projected terraces to shade the building and negate the need for energy-guzzling air conditioning, while sky gardens cool the incoming air.

A double-height ground-floor atrium is filled with exotic plants to help clean the urban air, all designed by Glenn Howells Architects. The first homes complete in September and one-bedroom apartments start from £761,000. Call 020 3944 9734.

Using the Notting Hill Genesis shared-ownership scheme, Maddy Smith, 30, bought her first home in Woodberry Down, Finsbury Park N4.

She took 35 per cent of a £385,000 one-bedroom Berkeley flat next to the East and West Hackney reservoirs and restored wetlands.

“It’s a lovely setting and not something you often have access to in central London,” says Maddy.

Heron Quarter, the next phase of shared-ownership Woodberry Down flats, launches on Saturday. From £106,875 for a 25 per cent share. Call 033 3000 4000.

Eden House in Crouch End is a carbon-neutral scheme with computerised living walls cleaning the surrounding air, while a mechanical ventilation system recirculates the warm air.

Apartments are on sale through Savills starting from £845,000. Call 020 7226 6611 for more.

“Deconstruct, not demolish” is fast becoming a new motto for the building industry.

When a building is crushed energy is used to destroy it, remove it and dispose of the waste. Reusing building materials can reduce the embodied carbon of demolition.

Harrow One, a 123-home scheme by Hill in Harrow, is wrapped around the existing Cumberland Hotel and Victoria Hall — the 6,000sq ft building will become the community hub at the heart of the scheme.

Four hundred cycle spaces and e-car charging points are being provided and each home has solar panels. Prices from £285,000 and Help to Buy is available (020 3906 1951).