Recycling and drying facilities would be built in, while large amounts of timber would be used for the buildings rather than concrete. Elsewhere in the complex, fewer parking spaces than normally required would be included to encourage residents to use public transport and there will be office space in every property so they can work from home. Aldbury propose that the homes will either be sold privately or become "shared ownership" between residents and a housing association. The scheme has been welcomed by Everton councillor Jane Corbett, who said local families had been fighting for an eco-homes development since the early 1990s. Cllr Corbett added: "Their running costs are lower than for a standard home, making them affordable for local people. Having such a high number of homes on one site will help support community facilities." Aldbury won the right to develop the site after showing that it could meet top environmental standards. The second and third phases, containing nearly 100 more properties, would be built at a later date on neighbouring sites. Aldbury spokesman Ben Flippance said: "We hope that this will be a benchmark, showing that you can produce buildings that are environmentally sustainable and still turn a profit." larryneild@dailypost.co.uk Developers told to plant trees A DRIVE to force city centre developers to plant hundreds of trees has won approval from Liverpool City Council's planning committee. Future schemes will have to include provision for tree planting projects as a way of transforming bleak "green-less" street environments. The decision was reached after councillors toured the city to look at redevelopment schemes. One scheme where landscaping had been promised had just one tree planted. Cllr Lady Doreen Jones, below, who put forward the idea, said: "If you walk from the council's Municipal Building to the Town Hall there is not a single tree or shrub. If you go to European cities there are trees everywhere and as we approach European Capital of Culture I want a Trees for the City initiative." Lady Doreen has already seen the introduction of a popular scheme to floodlight major buildings in and around the city. Cllr Lady Doreen added: "We can use planning regulations to ensure that trees are planted, and I am not talking about developers sticking a few little twigs in the ground. I want to see trees and shrubbery in our city." | 
News RSS Feed