Guru Kevin’s green town (From Swindon Advertiser)

Guru Kevin’s green town

12:20pm Friday 17th October 2008 in News By Sarah Hilley

Kevin McCloud in Swindon

POTENTIAL home owners, who move into Kevin McCloud’s planned development, can anticipate sharing cars, paying zilch heating costs and living closer to council tenants, he promised during a visit to Swindon yesterday.

The TV presenter’s fresh ideas for the Pickard’s Small Field site off Pinehurst Road also include making drains transparent so residents can see the flow of water and increasing wildlife.

He delivered a presentation at the National Trust headquarters, yesterday, saying his development aims to bring people together and end social segregation.

And one car per home was presented as being a possible house rule of living in his sustainable homes.

“I am aware that Swindon is not a bike city but a car city so we face some challenges here,” he said.

“I saw some sour faces around the room when I talked about reducing the number of cars per household.”

Thirty per cent of the homes have been designated social housing and the Housing Association will be responsible for driving the site.

“In the average street in Britain, a resident might only know six or so neighbours,” he said.

He advocates sharing tools and cars, as a way of bringing people together.

“Sharing objects and material goods is important so people also share experiences,” he said. “As a society we should be integrating people form all sorts of backgrounds.”

His company – HABS – plans to put the homes on the market for competitive prices, but McCloud says all the extra perks will come for free.

“Our challenge is delivering this for the price of a three-bedroom house,” he said.

“And we make no apologies of using the word ‘cool’ to describe it.”

Communal orchards or hedgerows with food and a communal hub were also presented as likely possibilities. “We think landscaping is an important part of what we do,” he said.

“The opposite is a lawn that gets mowed once per week. Biodiversity is one of our biggest objectives.”