Take a tour of this eco-development in outer London, which is so successful that its residents survive the English winter without any artificial heating.

It’s a six-degree early autumn day in the outer London borough of Sutton, but in Nicole Lazarus’ apartment in the BedZED eco-village it’s a toasty 25?C. And there’s not a heater running in the place. What’s more, thanks to the extraordinarily efficient passive solar design of this benchmark development, right through London’s bitterly cold “snow in” of January and February this year, Nicole was not once tempted to turn on a heater.

BedZED (Beddington Zero fossil Energy Development) is a joint initiative of the environmental charity Bio-Regional and ZEDfactory and was developed by housing association developers The Peabody Trust in association with Bill Dunster Architects. The development, which is located on a 1.8-hectare regenerated former sewage works site, houses about 200 people in 82 studio to fourbedroom apartments and 18 work/ live units. It was completed in 2002 and its residents are 25 per cent public housing tenants and 50 per cent home owners. The remaining 25 per cent are key-worker shared owners where people such as nurses, firemen and teachers, whose services are desperately needed in London but who can’t afford London property prices, enter into a joint mortgage with the government.

The eco village is the UK’s largest mixed-use sustainable community. The mission statement of the community is to allow ordinary people to enjoy a high quality of life while living within a fair share of the earth’s resources. More than 15 per cent of construction materials, including 25 tonnes of kerbing granite and steel from clearance sites, were reclaimed or recycled and 52 per cent of all the materials used came from within a 50-kilometre radius of the site. Triple-glazed conservatories on all the south-facing walls ensure good passive solar gain and the glazing is embedded with photovoltaic cells to collect 20 per cent of the community’s electricity needs. Roof tops planted with an alpine plant called sedum supplement more conventional insulation in the walls, while thick brick walls and solid floors make good heat sinks for absorbing prevailing sunshine. Hot water is solar generated and the designers estimate that choosing timber rather than PVC window frames saved nearly 800 tonnes of CO2 emissions, some 12.5 per cent of the total embodied CO2 for the scheme.

Water is harvested from the BedZED rooftops and used on the balcony gardens. Effluent from the bathroom, kitchen and toilets is cleaned by a biological filter and used for irrigation and flushing. All appliances are chosen for their low energy consumption and meters located in the main living area at eye level further contribute to an awareness of power usage. BedZED was designed with a combined power and heat plant based on local waste wood harvested from a tree station at Croydon. Problems with this plant mean operations have been suspended, so the development is a long way from achieving its goal of carbon neutrality. However, it does claim 81 per cent lower use of heating, 45 per cent lower use of electricity and 58 per cent lower use of water than conventional London buildings. The BedZED responsible living philosophy extends to lifestyle as well. The village has its own community garden and an organic farmers’ market is held in the community centre that includes a healthy food café. Recycling and composting have also been highly successful initiatives and the comprehensive transport plan reduced car parking spaces, introduced London’s first car club, provided free electric car sharing points and ensured good access to public transport and ample provision for cyclists.

Bio-regional has established One Planet Living, a model for sustainable living that has provided support and advice to eco developers around the world, including places such as South Africa, the US A and the United Arab Emirates. As technical manager for One Planet Living, Nicole Lazarus’ charity worker status meant she could buy her studio apartment through the shared ownership scheme. “I’ve worked for Bio-Regional for six years, so I was totally absorbed with the performance of the buildings,” she says. “And sure, the lack of need for heating has been a huge success and I’ve become a total wimp when I visit friends outside the community because I’m always complaining about how cold their houses are. But what I hadn’t counted on was how fantastic it is to live here and what a great community we have created.” Bio-Regional has data that suggests the average BedZED resident knows 20 neighbours by name compared with two or three for other areas of London. The units are all wired for high-speed internet and most residents opt to join the in-house intranet. “It’s great when your kettle breaks down, because you can post on the email and chances are someone will offer a spare one in an instant,” Nicole says. “We even advertise rooms vacant or apartments for short-term rental for visiting family and friends while residents are on holidays.

There’s a strong sense of community, but you choose to be as connected or remote from that as you like. “I knew that living here would be good for my impact on the planet, but the totally unexpected benefit has been the community’s impact on my lifestyle. It’s only 20 minutes by train to Victoria Station, but I feel like I’m living the dream of moving to the country without leaving the city. I’m growing my own vegies, I’m involved in a close-knit committed community, but I don’t need to own a car. It’s quite high-density living without any of the pressures.” For more information visit www. bioregional.com