ECO-FRIENDLY housing being built in The Meadows is expected to save families hundreds of pounds on their energy bills.

Many of the 38 homes in the £8m Green Street scheme, near the Embankment, will be A-rated for efficiency because they feature environmentally friendly design and technologies such as solar panels.

Figures released by developer Blueprint show the cost of heating, hot water, cooking, lighting, appliances and standing charges in the homes is estimated at £47 a month.

This compares with the monthly average costs for a standard modern three-bedroom British home of £83 a month, or £118 a month for a typical 1960s house.

Pete Conboy, development manager at Blueprint, said: "We've set out to build what we think are the best houses in Nottingham in terms of design, neighbourliness and access to open green areas.

"Now, the official figures on energy efficiency also show we've achieved another aim, which was to build some of the greenest homes in Nottingham.

"The assessment shows that people who come to live in Green Street will have the satisfaction of knowing that they will be minimising their use of resources and carbon emissions, while also having to pay a very modest amount in their energy bills.

"We can now proudly claim that it's Green Street by name, Green Street by nature."

The standard sustainability features of Green Street houses include:

High insulation efficiency, giving an average 63% enhancement compared with current industry standards.

Exceptional air tightness to minimise heat loss, giving a 70% improvement over the current industry standard.

Mechanical ventilation system that retains and recirculates the heat from expelled air.

Use of sustainable building materials such as timber.

A-rated appliances in kitchens and low-energy lighting used inside and outside.

Low-flush toilets which encourages efficient water use.

All the homes in Green Street are forecast to achieve an A or B rating under the Energy Performance Certificate scheme – the national standard which measures energy efficiency and carbon emissions.

The preliminary assessment has been made by a qualified independent assessor, but they were unable to give a total number that would achieve A rating.

Green Street is also set to achieve Level 4 in the Code for Sustainable Homes, the national mandatory standard for sustainable design. The maximum score is Level 6.

Work on the three and four-bedroom houses started in January.

The show home will be ready for viewing in May and the first 13 homes should be ready for occupation by autumn, with the scheme completed by spring next year.

The scheme has the backing of the Meadows Partnership Trust.

Jacky Dobson, community regeneration manager for the trust, said: "We have an aspiration of becoming a zero-carbon community and these eco-homes take us that one stage further because they are going to be a high level of specification and save a lot of energy, so we support it."

The estimate of energy costs at Green Street has been made by Blueprint and is for an A-rated three-bedroom mid-terrace property.

They take into account the new national Feed-in Tariff scheme, which starts on April 1, which will pay residents for electricity they generate using small-scale domestic energy sources, such as solar panels.

Green Street is being marketed nationally by estate agent Savills and locally by Royston & Lund. The houses will cost between £170,000 and £230,000.