LARGE scale builders who are planning new housing estates in the Kennet area of Wiltshire will have to build their houses with one eye on fuel efficiency after district councillors passed a new interim policy.

The council's planning policies executive committee has approved an interim policy on renewable energy for new large scale developments over 1000 square metres and ten or more dwellings.

The policy requires developers to provide, as a minimum, sufficient on-site renewable energy to reduce carbon emissions by users of the buildings by 10 per cent.

It will help meet the government's target for all new development to be zero carbon by 2016.

Tidworth councillor Andrew Connolly, the chairman of the policy committee said: "This new policy will will help us to reduce the carbon footprint of new large developments in Kennet."