BOVIS Homes has been asked to ‘clean up its act’ by protestors who gathered at the firm’s sales centre in Tavistock last Saturday to campaign against the ‘poor sustainability standards’ of its new homes in the town.

The developer is in the process of building its first phase of 740 new homes on Callington Road.

Members of climate change action group Extinction Rebellion claim that none of the houses will be fitted with solar panels or ground source heat pumps and only 20% of the homes will be provided with unfinished wiring for electric car charging points without the necessary fixtures to make them useable.

The protestors, dressed as cleaners, said: ‘In 2015 the Government lowered housing sustainability standards to address the issue of an insufficient housing stock.’

They said the short term gain but long term cost of this policy was raised at a Torridge and West Devon constituency public meeting in August this year where it was conceded that the cost of retro-fitting new-build houses was going to be a problem.

‘The Government is under huge pressure to address the carbon footprint of the UK’s housing stock which is responsible for 12 per cent of the county’s carbon emissions,’ said the protestors.

‘The committee on climate change is an independent body that advises government on climate policy and the actions necessary to achieve the legally set carbon budgets of the 2010 Climate Act. In its February 2019 report “UK housing: Fit for the future?” it identified housing as a priority.

‘There are 29-million old-build homes that will need to be adapted to meet the carbon neutral legal requirement by 2050 at the latest. New-build homes should not be adding to that figure.’

Extinction Rebellion has written to Bovis to request that it raises its standards above the bare minimum to provide homes that are a long term investment.

A Tavistock resident said: ‘I understand that we need more housing, but when people buy a house, it’s a long term investment.

‘These houses are all going to have to be retro-fitted with sustainable energy systems in the next couple of decades. Who’s going to pay? It must be cheaper to do it now, especially something as simple as electric car charging points and solar panels?’

A Bovis Homes spokesperson said: ‘Protecting the environment and creating sustainable communities are central to the way we work and that will be the case in Tavistock where, as part of a joint venture, we are delivering 398 much-needed properties in line with the planning consent.

‘We are committed to delivering a high-quality location of new-build homes. The development will offer a range of modern, comfortable and affordable homes and we have had more interest in this location than any other in the region.’