ONE of the first kind of sustainable homes to be seen in the UK have been built on a former hospital site in Kent.

Twenty eco-friendly houses have been built on the old Linton Hospital site in Coxheath, near Maidstone, as part of a £37 million development.

Eventually there will be some 150 new homes there built from concrete, steel and timber.

They are being built by English Partnerships (EP), architects Shepherd Robson, and developer Crest Nicholson.

EP’s regional director David Edwards said the homes meet strict environmental requirements and are built to reduce energy costs.

The former Linton site is one of 96 redundant hospital sites across the country which EP is bringing back into use.

Mr Edwards said: "These sustainable homes are one of the first kind in the UK. It’s certainly setting standards for future housing development in Kent. Each time we raise the levels and push the standards even higher."

The homes are uniquely designed and have in-built features to help ventilate and heat the homes.

Mr Edwards said: "You wouldn’t get these in a standard home. It is all about the design of the building and the environment working for you, instead of using electricity and putting the heating on all the time."

The houses are the first to be built under the EP’s Design for Manufacture Competition, which was the Government’s challenge to the housebuilding industry to build high-quality sustainable homes at a construction cost of £60,000.

Mr Edwards added: "The idea was if we can reduce the construction cost to £60,000 for one or two bedroom homes then we would be able to afford to sell at a lesser price, which is ideal for first-time buyers. Some have been sold for £120,000."

Those homes were sold under a shared equity scheme, which meant first time buyers paid £60,000 to own half the home, and then pay rent on the other half.

"It’s a different way of doing things. The UK house building industry do not want to do it this way as it easier to build in twos or threes and then sell them rather than build 15 or 20 at a time.

"But we have to get the housing industry to see that we have a housing shortage and there is a demand for more housing stock."