£4 million green materials investment announced

The Technology Strategy Board, a body concerned with developing new materials for eco-friendly housebuilding, has said it is to invest a total of £4 million in projects aimed at achieving greater eco friendliness.

It is investing in competitors in the Materials for Low Impact Buildings competition, which will compete on the basis of how well they can contribute towards achieving government targets for zero carbon emissions and low water usage, the Green Building Press reports.

Firms which succeed in creating such materials will reap the benefits, the board's chief executive Iain Gray said, stating: "UK businesses that meet these exacting standards will be well placed to take advantage of the growing domestic and global demand for environmentally friendly buildings."

Such advances may also help create the materials that self build homes will be made from in the future.

An example of eco-friendly building has been unveiled at a new housing development in Northampton, the Northampton Chronicle reports.

The new homes in the Sixfields area of the town include living roofs and solar panels to heat their water.