The Government should forget plans for controversial eco-towns and instead concentrate on the green issues of the UK’s 26 million existing homes, said Grand Designs host Kevin McCloud.
The 51-year-old television presenter argued it would be quicker and easier to work on the existing house stock.
He said: “It is a lot less energy and it’s a lot less effort to work on the existing housing stock rather than tear it all down and build again”.
His comments came ahead of Thursday’s Government announcement which is expected to drastically downsize previous plans for eco-towns.
McCloud said the Government should address poorly insulated, inefficient housing stock in a bid to kick-start a green refurbishment programme and reduce homeowner’s energy bills.
He added: “Eco-towns are nothing if people commute to work, and you’ve got to make them a place where people live and stay and base their lives.
“We need to concentrate on the 26 million existing homes that we’ve got in this country that are responsible for about 27% of carbon emissions.”
Nine million tonnes of carbon dioxide, equivalent to the C02 output of more than 1.5 million homes, could be saved by retrofitting existing housing stock, said the Committee on Climate Change.
