The most environmentally-friendly flats in Sussex will force everyone who lives in the properties to go green.

One Brighton, in the New England Quarter in Brighton, will include everything needed to convert even the worst environmental offenders.

They will include energy saving gadgets and rooftop allotments. They go on sale on Saturday.

The project, which is modelled on the pioneering zero carbon development Bedzed in Surrey, grew out of an idea from conscientious residents.

They approached environmental charity BioRegional to see how easy it would be to make a sustainable community in the city.

Three years on and the charity has teamed up with developers Crest Nicholson to lay the foundations for a ground-breaking new scheme.

One Brighton is based on sustainable living guidelines drawn up by BioRegional and the World Wildlife Fund.

All 172 flats are fitted with water-saving devices and energy-saving light fittings. They will be heated by an on-site biomass boiler that will burn locally sourced woodchips from tree surgery waste. The majority of the electricity will come from off-site renewable sources supplemented by solar panels and wind turbines on the roof.

People who move in will be encouraged to recycle rubbish and use an on-site compost bin for kitchen waste.

About 20 small allotments will be available on the roof for people to grow their own produce while schemes including an organic food delivery service will also be on offer to encourage people to buy locally.

The site does not include parking for cars but it is hoped the first generation of One Brighton will use public transport, bicycles or the building's exclusive car club fleet of five cars, one of which will be run on electricity.

Daniel Viliesid, in charge of sustainability for Bioregional's development arm BioRegional Quintain, said: "The idea is to integrate things that are already established. It's not rocket science they just haven't been done all in one place before.

"Especially in Brighton there are so many organisations offering things to help lower our carbon footprint. We're just trying to work with partners to develop these things on one site."

The development will also include a community centre run by Ethical Property Company, an offshoot of the Brighton Peace and Environment Centre offering office space for charities and an organic cafe.

Even the building process adheres to low carbon principles. Builders, who will be at the site until its completion in August 2009, attended talks on sustainable living while the site itself is one big recycling centre.

Geoff Moseley, senior project manager for Crest Nicholson, said: "All the metal reinforcements and 4,500 cubic metres of concrete aggregate have been recycled.

"The timber was bought from sustainable forests and the generators are all fuelled by biodiesel made from cooking fat. It's certainly a first for us to use so many recycled materials but we think it will be the first of many."

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