There's a lot in the news at the moment about new eco villages which the government is planning to build. The eco village is causing lots of controversy and I think that unfortunately it's taking the focus away from the fantastic eco housing developments that are already underway across the UK.

Some developers are making big eco waves in the UK's Green Building sector with a number of eco housing developments making a real difference to lives of people living in these eco communities. Sounds great to me, so how do these eco housing developments work and who is involved?

We looked into various eco housing developments in Wales, Scotland and England to see how the UK is broaching Eco Building.

HAB - Happiness, Architecture, Beauty - England

HAB is lead by Kevin McCloud, the well known face of Grand Designs. Working with the local community their mission is to create "communities which are a pleasure to live in, sustainable in the broadest sense". HAB wanted to expand on the eco element that has been a success with so many individual housing projects to change the mindset of large developers, creating whole eco villages to improve the quality of life of individuals living within them.

Kevin says the housing has to be contextual, sustainable, contemporary, enjoyable, sociable and of course profitable.

HAB are working with Swindon Borough Council on two eco housing developments in Swindon - developments of 150 - 200 homes. The sites are green spaces -a redundant allotment with scrubland and a piece of greenfield agricultural land.

HAB are planning other eco housing developments, focusing on places where current housing is poor. They want there to be a spread effect on the surrounding areas with social and environmental improvements for the wider community as well as the eco villages themselves.

Check out the HAB website for more detail.

Lammas Eco Village - Wales

The Lammas eco village is currently applying for planning permission. They want to build an eco village in Wales with 9 eco-smallholdings, a campsite and a community hub building. They're hoping to start the build in Autumn this year and will be using 76 acres of land for the eco housing development.

The eco houses will be carbon-neutral and low-impact using a combination of recycled and natural materials. Builds will include straw, earth and timber so that they blend into the landscape. The latest environmental designs & technology will be used to create the settlement.

The new eco village will be completely independent. Electricity will be produced using renewable and a water turbine already exists. Rainwater harvesting from the roofs will add to supplies and organic waste will be composted. The residents will work the land for their livelihood - woodland crafts, horticulture, tree nurseries, livestock and wool.

Lammas' vision is "to establish a thriving example of low-impact development, providing an educational resource pointing the way for truly sustainable rural developments of the future. The eco housing development has been designed to run on permaculture principles. The land will be developed to improve the synergy of the different habitats across the site, simultaneously enhancing bio-diversity and leading to an increased but sustainable yield from the land. Where there is currently degraded agricultural pasture, Lammas plans to create a landscape of vitality and abundance."

Check out the Lammas website for more details on the eco village.

Findhorn Eco Village - Scotland

Findhorn is another example of eco villages based on sustainability. It focuses on human, social and environmental needs to enhance quality of life and looks at how we turn villages, towns and cities into sustainable communities within the natural environment.

A recent study by GEN-Europe & SDRC has brought great news for Findhorn Foundation community in Moray, Scotland. It has recorded "the lowest-ever ecological footprint for any community in the industrialised world" - quite an achievement! This means that in terms of resource consumption and creation of waste, Findhorn have triumphed - a great result for combating climate change.

Focus for Findhorn has been on ecological building - renewable energy systems, biological waste, water treatment, organic food production, sustainable economics, a complementary currency & lets scheme and inclusive decision-making processes.

Check out the Findhorn Eco Village website for more detail.

So there is a lot of work going on to promote eco housing developments and eco home projects across the UK. I am sure that these eco villages, if well integrated with local communities, will become more widespread in future - we look forward to the rise of the eco village!