Work begins on UK's first eco Housing Fair

Six year-old twins Molly and Anna MacGregor, of Inshes Primary School, Inverness, today (Monday) marked the start of the build of the UK's first eco Housing Fair which will take place near Inverness in August 2009.

The Highland Housing Fair will showcase 54 architecturally designed eco-homes and is based on a model found in Finland and mainland Europe established for over 40 years. 40% of the fair homes will be affordable, with the remaining 60% available for sale on the free market. Visitors can also expect a cultural experience, with international artists performing and exhibitors showcasing the very best of Scottish interior design, art and furniture. It will be the first green event of its kind in the UK.

The ground breaking of the Highland Housing Fair (HHF) also marks the start of a UK wide campaign for house builders to switch on to the need for sustainable house design. HHF aims to shake up the housing sector and show what can be achieved by good house design, innovation, and by giving ordinary people that need it most, a vision for future living.

Councillor Drew Hendry, Chairman of The Highland Council’s Planning, Environment and Development Committee, added: “The Highland Housing Fair promises to be a great event, giving the opportunity for the housing industry and visitors alike to see what is possible for housing design going forward.

“It will also enable people to see that sustainable and affordable can go hand in hand. Indeed, 40% of houses at the fair will be affordable, well above the usual Highland Council requirements for 25% of new developments to be affordable. The fair also promises to be a cultural event not to be missed and will encourage visitors from all over the UK to visit the Highlands.”

The HHF has signed its first campaign Ambassador, Wayne Hemingway, Red or Dead founder and pioneer of social housing and creator of Staiths South Bank in Gateshead, who will appear at the event in 2009.

Wayne Hemingway said: “If we continue to allow house builders to build identikit rabbit hutches, which research regularly shows are largely unloved by a population in the grip of a major housing shortage, we will simply find ourselves pulling them down in 30 years, in the same way that we are now pulling down our mistakes of the ‘60s and ‘70s.

“What house buyers really want are stylish, high-quality dwellings close to friends, family, work and recreational facilities at prices they can afford.  We need to start raising the bar for architecture and design in the UK, and create sustainable homes that are designed to meet people’s needs, whilst acting as a sound investment in our future. This is where the Highland Housing Fair comes in. Its ethos is all about creating architect-designed, sustainable homes that will act as a real catalyst for change.

“Quantity and quality really can go hand in hand and affordable housing can also be superbly designed.  We just need to make this the norm rather than the exception.  As more and more organisations within the house building industry recognise this and come together to create change, momentum will build and the sea-change will happen.

“This is a rare opportunity to create something wonderful for the Highlands, and for Scotland, that could be the envy of the rest of the UK, an opportunity to create a sustainable community with its own unique set of characteristics, set in an environment that is crying out for new homes with which to address the current chronic shortage.”

Fiona Porteous, Highland Housing Fair project manager, commented: “It is well recognised there is a shortage of affordable housing across the Highlands, Scotland and the UK generally. Given fossil fuels are fast running out, the current housing model we have in the UK is just not sustainable.

“Sustainability and affordability are both high on the political agenda and the Scottish Government is keen to support projects like the Highland Housing Fair. There needs to be a change in the way new homes are designed and built so they can be made from sustainable resources in the future and will have no need of traditional energy resources.”

The next Highland Housing Fair is already being planned for 2011.
Further information from http://www.highlandhousingfair.com/