Work on building a controversial model village on the outskirts of York will finally start next year. Mike Laycock reports on one of two prototype homes which have already been constructed to demonstrate the super-green intentions for Derwenthorpe.

ON the roof there are solar panels to turn sunshine into electricity. In the walls, there are highly insulated “sandwich panels” to keep the cold out, and in the ceilings, there are low-energy light bulbs.

In addition, air sucked into the loft from throughout the house is cleaned through a filtering system and then pumped back into the property – reducing the need to open the windows to let fresh air in... and warm air out.

Meanwhile, out in the garden, there is an underground tank for storing rainwater from the roof, linked to the house’s plumbing so it can be used to flush the toilets, reducing demand for mains water.

The environmentally friendly detached property is one of two prototype detached houses built by the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust at the end of Temple Avenue, to illustrate the types of green properties it wants to see in Derwenthorpe, a 540-home model village on York’s eastern outskirts at Osbaldwick.

The trust unveiled its Derwenthorpe proposals as long ago as 1999, but the scheme has been delayed by a sustained campaign of opposition from local residents opposed to the loss of green open space and extra traffic on local roads.

Construction work will start in 2011.

The arguments and debate have been fully reported by this newspaper over the past decade, but trust development director Nigel Ingram has shown The Press around one of the prototypes to illustrate the type of leading-edge green technology available nowadays.

He said another measure would also reduce energy bills for residents and the settlement’s carbon footprint – a central biomass boiler burning locally sourced woodchip, which will feed hot water to properties across the site through a network of pipes.

York Central MP Hugh Bayley, who has also visited the eco-house, said homes needed to be much more energy efficient to cut bills and reduce climate change. “Derwenthorpe will be the model for housing developments in this century,” he said.