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Tucked away in busy and polluted London sits an eco-friendly village where heating bills are non existent, the roofs are lined with solar panels, and neighbours pop round for tea.

BedZED in Hackbridge, Sutton, has low carbon heating, lots of green space, wind cowls for ventilation, and pedestrianised paths so traffic has to go around the complex.

The homes in the south London housing development do not have radiators - making heating bills "non existent".

Instead there are glass fronts on all the buildings with a 'sun space' before you reach the front door, acting as a green house and keeping the properties warm.

Outside, roofs are lined with plants, creating a great environment for wildlife, and everyone has their own outdoor area.

(Image: Adam Gerrard / Mirror.co.uk)

BedZED uses district heating for the water; pipes underground carry water heated from burning woodchip in a biomass boiler, which then gets pumped into the homes.

Sustainability is the focus, but the sense of community is also key. Residents care about the ethos of where they live and about each other.

Neighbours come together for community events and to grow and share food, and residents say they feel happier and healthier.

Champion of eco-living and one of the creators of BedZed, Sue Riddlestone OBE, told Mirror.co.uk everyone should and could live in a greener way.

(Image: Adam Gerrard / Mirror.co.uk)

She has created a framework she thinks others can apply to their living situation, which looks at zero waste, local and sustainable food and how to achieve zero carbon energy.

Sue, who has lived on site since its completion in 2002, said: "People in 'normal' flats could live a similar lifestyle by thinking about their windows, growing food, switching to a green electricity tariff, thinking about their mode of transport.

"We have all got to think that there is a climate and eco emergency - so we have got to get rid of the fossil fuels pronto. It's happening fast so we need to take action fast.

"When we look back we will think, why didn't we do it before?"

(Image: Adam Gerrard / Mirror.co.uk)

Martha Spearpoint, who has lived on the site for about eight years, said the two main benefits are very low energy bills and the community interaction.

The 43-year-old IT trainer, who lives with her partner and two children aged 11 and six, said: "It's always warm. When I think about places I've lived before, I've needed slippers, a dressing gown. Here it's always comfortable with no effort at all.

"I like the way the estate is designed, there are a lot of car free areas so the kids can play independently.

(Image: Adam Gerrard / Mirror.co.uk)

"The architecture has encouraged more community interaction - it's good for your mental health.

"Everyone is really friendly. We try and grow things together. It's like a village within London so you can opt in or out of that [city] life. My partner says it feels like you're on holiday."

She added: "We already don't fly and don't drive and it feels more normal not to do those things when others around you don't - and then you think 'what else can I do?'."

(Image: Adam Gerrard / Mirror.co.uk)

Martha - like Sue - would find it difficult now to live anywhere else.

Sue, along with Pooran Desai, founded Bioregional - a charity and social enterprise which works to create projects and partnerships for sustainable living.

Bioregional, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this week created BedZED, which stands for Beddington Zero Energy Development.

Sue and Pooran wanted to build 'green' houses where they could also live and began the BedZED project together with ZEDfactory architects and the developers Peabody housing association.

(Image: Adam Gerrard / Mirror.co.uk)

"We thought of it as 'how can we make it easy for people to live a sustainable lifestyle where they're producing next to no pollution,'" Sue said.

"We thought about how we would make the buildings - two brick walls with a lot of insulation in the middle to keep the heat in. The bricks were locally bought and recycled and reclaimed wood was used.

"We thought about the energy we use in the homes and tried to make it 'zero carbon'. We are not using any fossil fuels, we have low flow taps and LED lighting.

"We are saving energy with insulation, double and triple glazed windows. Everybody could do that."

Solar panels generate 30% of the electricity on the site and for the remainder a green tariff energy supplier is used.

Sue said transport is also a factor that is considered in the BedZED lifestyle.

There is reduced parking on site, and people are encouraged to take part in a 'car club' where you sign up and borrow a car as a way to reduce carbon and spend.

Each home also has space for bikes - inside the front door, via bike racks or communal sheds.

A hundred homes make up the site - 50 market properties, 25 social housing, and 25 which are shared ownership with Peabody. The size of the homes varies from one to four bedrooms.

(Image: Adam Gerrard / Mirror.co.uk)

There's also a BedZed field which residents are responsible for maintaining, with community gym equipment, allotment space and a wildlife area.

People grow salads, cabbage, beans, courgettes, raspberries, herbs - and everybody happily shares the produce.

In a community pavillion there's a BedZed bar, where neighbours hold monthly social events with local wine and beer, and homecooked pizza or curry nights. The pavillion also hosts karate and dance lessons.

Residents even have a group email through which they discuss swapping household items and clothes.

"People know their neighbours which makes you happier and healthier," Sue said.

"Everybody knows 20 of their neighbours whereas across the road people know about six."

(Image: Adam Gerrard / Mirror.co.uk)

She added: "Living here just makes it easier for you to be green living and people talk about it.

"We have a connection with a community farm in Sutton where people get vegetable boxes from."

Sue has three grown up children who have all moved out now but she says they loved living at BedZED and were proud of being part of it.

"As a parent you feel it's safer," Sue said.

(Image: Adam Gerrard / Mirror.co.uk)

Kat Lund-Yates, fundraising and partnerships manager, said: "The concept was that everybody should be able to live like this.

"The aim was to show that living within the means of the planet was possible.

"At the moment, the way we live in the UK, we would need three planets - we are using up more than the planet can provide for us.

"The idea of One Planet Living - [created by Sue and Pooran] - is to live within the means of one planet.

One Planet Living Here are Bioregional's 10 things to work on to achieve One Planet Living: * Health and happiness * Equity and local economy * Culture and community * Land and nature * Sustainable water * Local and sustainable food * Travel and transport * Materials and products * Zero waste * Zero carbon energy.

(Image: Adam Gerrard / Mirror.co.uk)

"If people care about where they live and the ethos of the place they are more likely to focus on how they can reduce their waste and carbon. People stay here a lot longer because they have a high quality of life."

Sue added: "We made a framework with 10 principles you can use to try and achieve One Planet living and to design a sustainable lifestyle .

"We train people to use this framework. It should and could be for everybody. "