English Partnerships (EP) is a step closer to building its first village of zero-carbon homes with the announcement of the shortlisted developers and architects.

The teams, which are bidding to build 150 homes on a 6.1ha site in Bristol, are: Artisan H with Feilden Clegg Bradley Architects; Barratt Homes with HTA; Edward Ware Homes with Acanthus Ferguson Mann Architects; Gleeson Homes with Proctor and Matthews; Places for People with PRP Architects; Taylor Wimpey with Broadway Malyan; and Urban Splash (South West).

The project is the first in EP鈥檚 Carbon Challenge competition. A second site in Bristol will come to market later this year.

Meanwhile, industry bodies met the communities department this week to discuss a draft of the climate change planning policy statement. Both the British Property Federation (BPF) and the Home Builders Federation have called for the scrapping of the 鈥淢erton Rule鈥�, where councils set specific on-site renewable energy targets for developments.

Liz Peace, chief executive of the BPF, said: 鈥淭he industry must not be straightjacketed.鈥�