COP26: Wellingborough energy park leading the way in sustainable housing

Watch a report for ITV News Anglia by Graham Stothard.

As the second week of the CO26 summit begins, attention has turned to one of the biggest issues facing the country - how to update poorly-insulated and inefficiently-made housing stock. 

The government has committed to all new homes being highly energy-efficient, producing up to 80% less carbon emissions than they do now.

Chelveston Renewable Energy Park near Wellingborough was previously an airbase but now has 330,000 solar panels and nine wind turbines.

In a few years' time, it hopes the wind turbines will be wired straight into a nearby housing estate with homes also powered by solar panels of their own.

The houses will start being built in 2023, and those behind it say the the project will be the first of its kind.

Simon Toseland, an adviser to the project, said: "There'll be no gas boilers in them. We have battery storage on site where we'll be able to store energy the houses generate in a communal battery, so that when the house is generating energy when you're not in them, that battery stores.

"When you come back home, you can draw the power from the battery - it's coded to your house so you get your energy back that you've generated."

Building a house results in tonnes and tonnes of emissions before anyone even moves in - something experts feel needs to change.

A hemp-lined composite takes 108kg of CO2 out of the atmosphere per cubic metre.

A computer-generated model of six soon-to-be-built homes was created by Zero Carbon Labs based at the University of Hertfordshire, with the aim of working out how to make them energy efficient.

Prof Ljubomir Jankovic, a director of Zero Carbon Lab, said: "What we found was that in order to get to net zero with new-build before 2050, using conventional materials such as brick is not an option.

"Using naturally-grown materials can get us there slightly before 2050. But if you use conventional materials, then we will get there with new build by maybe 2065, 2070."

In countries such as Australia or the United States, a movement known as 'Tiny Homes' is gathering momentum - which means houses are smaller, and use less energy.

Eco Tiny Homes is one of the companies leading the movement in the UK, with its head office in Northamptonshire.

Jordan Spittle, from Eco Tiny Homes, said that these homes contribute to reducing card emissions as there are lower running costs and it is all built off-site.

It is thought that a change in the way homes are built, and insulated could bring their effect on the environment close to zero.