Members of local community group Lancaster Cohousing are celebrating after Lancaster City Council’s planning committee approved their plans to redevelop a 2.5 hectare derelict site by the River Lune at Halton, near Lancaster, to provide 40 new private homes, shared indoor and outdoor space and managed business space. The cohousing group is a mix of individuals, couples and families of all ages whose aim is to build eco-homes of a cutting edge sustainable design and create a friendly, supportive neighbourhood. read more...

In a matter of weeks, the University of Nottingham's freshers will realise they're living on an eco campus. "Some students get it very quickly," says its environmental manager Dr Keith Pitcher, whose work is to make the campus even greener and who was highly commended in this year's Green Gown Awards. "We also realised they get very competitive, so we run an inter-halls competition, the winner being the hall that achieves the biggest cuts in energy and waste." read more...

The Pixel building, recently constructed in Melbourne by Australian development and construction firm Grocon is not only the country's first low carbon office building, it is also the greenest. Completed this month, Pixel attained a green building score of 100, which exceeded the 75-point threshold for a 6 Star Green Star rating, the highest available under the Green Building Council of Australia's assessment system. read more...

Schools could reap benefits of around £68,000 over 25 years from a scheme which would pay for them to have solar panels installed on their roofs. Participants would stand to save up to £840 on electricity bills and generate an income of more than £3,000 a year from the Government's feed-in tariff scheme, without having to pay the up-front costs of installation. read more...

Two eco-houses in Taastrup, Denmark have been built by the Danish Technological Institute in cooperation with Henning Larsen Architects to serve as a high-tech laboratory intended to guide the future of green building. EnergyFlex House features two 2,100 square foot structures packed with the latest in green design technology and materials. One structure serves as a laboratory to study and document green systems and materials, while the other houses a family full time. read more...

Two recent developments have scored highly in the Welsh BREEAM awards. The College Ystrad Mynach was named best project in the Further Education category while the Rodney Parade ‘City Vizion’ Phase 1 Development in Newport was the overall winner in the ECO Homes section. The new build for The College Ystrad Mynach in Caerphilly is a four-storey teaching block that includes general classrooms, computing rooms, learning support, a hair salon, a learning resource centre and a new refectory with kitchen facilities. It is being constructed within the footprint of the building being replaced. read more...