In this age of the super highway, innovative technologies and leaps in medicine, you would think we would have a few basics covered, such as housing. Ever the problem, housing availability within the UK, and Ireland, is at a premium with available properties at an all time high price-wise and mortgages which your grandchildren will be making the exit payment on. Some lenders are actually requesting an addi- tional 25% down as a deposit.

Added to this there is a national shortage of housing. And yet according to a Halifax survey, there are in the region of 300,000 empty dwellings in Eng- land alone.

Indeed, last December the U.K. Empty Homes National Week of Action kicked into force to raise awareness of the 1.6 percent of housing stock going begging.

But it is the increasing demand for affordable housing which has now led to the U.K. governement to an- nounce plans with Barratt Developments to build the first eco-village.

Housing minister, Yvette Cooper has confirmed the first of the country’s ten villages, will be built at the site of the former Hanham Hall Hospital near Bristol and will conform to the government's most exacting eco-standard - level six of the Code for Sustainable Homes.

"We have set a world-beating target that all new homes must be zero carbon by 2016. People said this couldn't be done, but, in fact, this first Carbon Challenge site shows developers are already preparing to build the first major development of zero carbon homes," said Ms Cooper. “We've set up plans for ten eco-towns. These Carbon Challenge eco-villages are now leading the way, showing what can be done. This marks a revolution in the way we design and build homes." She added.

The scheme forms part of government plans to build two million new homes in the UK before 2016. It is thought the Challenge will deliver zero carbon homes and communities well in advance of this becoming mandatory in 2016, and could also help the housebuilding sector demon- strate that the targets are feasible as well as commercially viable.

Other welcome reactions from a marketplace which has factored in the high demand for realistic housing, include the arrival of flat pack IKEA homes for lower income households - championed in Gateshead, England (page 21). While in Dublin, Dockland properties with high quality specifcations are on the market at afford- able prices. (page 20 )

This year’s LifestyleGreen Show (page 71), sponsored by NIE Your Energy and partner Castle Espie, will tackle the same issue with a permanent example of a sustainable building.

At the event the first Earthship will take form which will in itself, be unique anywhere on the island of Ireland. Not as far-fetched as it sounds, Earthships, as they exist today, have been around since the 1970’s and are sheltered autonomous buildings with a core of earth filled tyres. Designed to be energy efficient and built from recycled materials, the buildings offer affordable housing as a self-build option.

But to finish on a positive note, the challenge of carbon targets may just mean that eco- market forces win the day . . .