The Right Hon. Steve Reed, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, visited Carpenters Yard, a landmark new neighbourhood comprising 113 market-leading sustainable homes in Thornwood, Epping Forest to mark the formal launch of the world’s largest community microgrid.
Carpenters Yard has been built by gs8, the award-winning UK housebuilder specialising in planet positive homes and neighbourhoods in partnership with Octopus Energy, and was funded by Octopus Capital, an impact-driven asset manager.
Carpenters Yard features 78 design-led private homes and 35 affordable homes that are all eligible for Octopus Energy’s Zero Bills tariff. The affordable homes have been acquired by Octopus Capital’s Affordable Housing Strategy. Of these 35 homes, all built to the same market-leading performance standards as the private homes, 20 are allocated for affordable rent and 15 will be shared ownership. Housing management services will be provided by CHP, the largest not-for-profit housing association in Essex.
Launched in 2022, Octopus Energy’s Zero Bills is a world-first tariff that lets customers move into homes packed with cutting-edge green tech – including a heat pump, a battery and solar panels – with no home energy bills for at least 5-10 years.*
Visiting the scheme alongside gs8’s co-founders Josh Gordon and Ben Spencer, their strategic advisor Baroness Luciana Berger, as well as Octopus Capital’s Head of Affordable Housing, Jack Burnham, the Housing Secretary officially activated the world’s largest Zero Bills development, showcasing the first community microgrid to guarantee no home energy bills for all residents – private and affordable. This system includes centralised battery storage that will enable on-site renewable energy to be distributed efficiently between all homes across the development.
“Carpenter’s Yard is what the future of British housing can and should look like – high-quality homes that slash everyday costs for working people and families.
We’re taking long-overdue action to fix the housing crisis and build the right homes with the right infrastructure. This is backed by our historic £39 billion to accelerate social and affordable housebuilding, alongside driving up standards across the board to provide safe and secure housing for all.”
Housing Secretary Steve Reed
“By combining gs8’s planet positive approach with Octopus Capital’s purpose-led investment, and Octopus Energy’s pioneering technology, we’ve created a community where people can live in high-quality, design-led homes with zero energy bills. We are incredibly proud to show the Housing Secretary our blueprint for how to deliver planet positive, energy-efficient and climate resilient homes at scale”
Josh Gordon, Co-Founder of gs8
“Carpenter’s Yard is a perfect example of the powerful role long-term capital can play in transforming housing. By combining institutional investment and gs8’s cutting-edge homebuilding innovation, alongside the Housing Secretary’s support, we’re proving that affordability and sustainability can go hand in hand. This is a glimpse into the future of housing.”
Jack Burnham, Head of Affordable Housing at Octopus Capital
Carpenters Yard is built in line with gs8’s Planet Positive Framework, with all non-contaminated waste on site reused wherever possible and no use of skips, with no waste to landfill. The carbon stored in the homes and the landscaping exceeds the embodied carbon needed to build and maintain them.
The timber-frame homes are approximately 15 times more efficient than the UK standard for airtightness, due to gs8’s proprietary build system and processes. As part of gs8’s framework, potable water usage of 75 litres per person per day is achieved, along with a commitment to sourcing timber solely from UK sustainable forestry, using primarily bio-based and materials with high recycled content, and homes that are able to remain passively ambient throughout changing conditions.
Embedding a strong focus on community living has been a core design principle for Carpenters Yard. As a result, the scheme features a wealth of shared spaces, including community allotments, a fitness centre, a new community hub, a new office for the local Parish Council, a local grocery store with a community café, a communal DIY and reuse centre, an electric bicycle scheme offered in partnership with Volt, and electric car club vehicles offered in partnership with Nissan, solely for the use of residents.
Carpenters Yard’s internal specification features bespoke handcrafted kitchen cabinets with worktops made from 100% recycled glass and designed to resemble quartz, bathroom feature walls made from recycled plastics, courtesy of Smile Plastics based in Wales and bio-based plasters from Adaptavate based in Bristol. These unique materials ensure that each home tells a story and provides a space that residents can be proud to call home. The properties also come with dedicated space for home working, generous loft and hallway storage, and utility rooms.
The development will see its first completions from Q4 2025.
