Energy minister Dr Miatta Fahnbulleh MPvisits Templegate

We hosted Dr Miatta Fahnbulleh MP, Minister for Energy Consumers, at our Templegate development in Burgess Hill, West Sussex last week, together with Octopus Energy and Aster Group. 

As the Minister for Energy Consumers, Dr Fahnbulleh is responsible for the government’s Warm Homes Plan, which will roll out upgrades to up to 300,000 homes this year – from new insulation to solar PV and heat pumps.

Our Chief Executive Officer Rob Boughton greeted Dr Fahnbulleh when she arrived at Templegate and introduced her to representatives from Octopus Energy and Aster Group, our joint venture partner for the development. The party took a tour of the ongoing construction works, before viewing the technology that enables a Zero Bills home. Dr Fahnbulleh also looked around a show home and spoke with residents about their experience of living in a Zero Bills home.

Minister for Energy Consumers, Miatta Fahnbulleh, said: “It is clear from my visit to Templegate that the homes of the future are actually being built right now. It was really impressive to see how solar, batteries and heat pumps are transforming homes to deliver zero bills for working families.” 

Rob Boughton added: “We are determined to reduce bills for our residents, eliminate carbon and create sustainable communities along the way. It was great to welcome the Minister to Templegate and show her our Zero Bills homes and the technology behind them. Most importantly, it was great to introduce her to residents who are benefitting from Zero Bills and who are so enthused about the certainty this gives them.” 

Due to be fully complete in spring 2026, Templegate will be a 120-home, fully net zero carbon community. The first of the 48 Zero Bills homes at the development are already occupied, guaranteeing no energy bills for homeowners for at least five years. The homes feature a raft of state-of-the-art clean technology, including solar PV panels, air-source heat pumps, wastewater heat recovery systems and home storage batteries. Of the 120 homes, 27 will be affordable rent while a further nine will be available through the government’s First Homes scheme.