The Millennium Communities Programme (or Millennium Villages initiative), is an English Partnerships

English Partnerships

English Partnerships was the national regeneration agency for England, performing a similar role on a national level to that fulfilled by Regional Development Agencies on a regional level...

 initiative to construct 7 new 'villages' that are intended to 'set the standard for 21st Century living, and to serve as a model for the creation of new communities' in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

This is to be achieved by promoting innovative building technologies, increased economic and social self-sufficiency, high urban design standards, and sustainable development

Sustainable development

Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...

 principles.

The villages

A competition for the development of the first of the 'Millennium Villages', Greenwich Millennium Village, was launched in 1997. It is expected that 6,000 new homes will have been completed within the programme by 2010, although construction will continue beyond this.

The full list of Millennium Communities is:

• Greenwich Millennium Village
  Greenwich Millennium Village
  The Greenwich Millennium Village is an innovative mixed-tenure modern housing estate on an urban village model located on the Greenwich Peninsula in Greenwich in south-east London, and part of the Millennium Communities Programme under English Partnerships...
  
  , London
  London
  London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
  
  
• Allerton Bywater Millennium Community, near Leeds
  Leeds
  Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
  
  
• New Islington Millennium Community
  New Islington
  New Islington is an inner city regeneration area of Manchester, in North West England. Historically a part of Ancoats, it has now taken a separate identity to reflect its changed status as a regeneration area....
  
  , Manchester
  Manchester
  Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
  
  
• South Lynn Millennium Community, King’s Lynn
• Telford Millennium Community, Telford
  Telford
  Telford is a large new town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, approximately east of Shrewsbury, and west of Birmingham...
  
  
• Oakgrove Millennium Community, Milton Keynes
  Milton Keynes
  Milton Keynes , sometimes abbreviated MK, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, in the south east of England, about north-west of London. It is the administrative centre of the Borough of Milton Keynes...
  
  
• Hastings Millennium Community, Hastings
  Hastings
  Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
  
  

Environmental objectives

Among the environmental aims are cutting energy used during constructing 50%, energy consumption by 20%, water consumed by 20%, and waste disposal by 50%.

Some of the villages plan to go beyond this - for example Greenwich plans to cut primary energy used by 80% http://www.greenwich-village.co.uk using low-energy building techniques and renewable energy

Renewable energy

Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...

 technologies.

See also

• Code for Sustainable Homes
  Code for Sustainable Homes
  The Code for Sustainable Homes is an environmental impact rating system for housing in England and Wales, setting new standards for energy efficiency and sustainability which are not mandatory under current building regulations but represent important developments towards limiting the...
  
  
• Energy efficiency in British housing
  Energy efficiency in British housing
  Domestic housing in the United Kingdom presents a possible opportunity for achieving the 20% overall cut in UK carbon dioxide emissions targeted by the Government for 2010...
  
  
• Environmental design
  Environmental design
  Environmental design is the process of addressing surrounding environmental parameters when devising plans, programs, policies, buildings, or products...
  
  
• Sustainable architecture
  Sustainable architecture
  Sustainable architecture is a general term that describes environmentally conscious design techniques in the field of architecture. Sustainable architecture is framed by the larger discussion of sustainability and the pressing economic and political issues of our world...
  
  
• Sustainable Communities Plan
  Sustainable Communities Plan
  The Sustainable Communities Plan was launched in 2003 and is a key policy of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in guiding its regeneration and departmental objectives. It led to the a range of policies and plans which are in effect a spatial plan for the whole of England...
  
  

External links

• English Partnerships official Millennium Communities Programme page
• Millennium villages and sustainable communities (independent assessment)

In the media

• Jan 2007, New Builder: First Millenium Community homes sold in South Lynn