When Olivia Harriott applied to Family Housing Association for a transfer she never expected to be offered the Birmingham’s first eco show home.

Five months after moving in, Olivia and her three daughters are delighted with their new home in the Summerfield area of the city. “This is absolutely fantastic,” she says. “We now have a better standard and quality of life all round.”

The conversion of the Victorian house heralds the start of a £1.25 million project to turn the Summerfield area green. Family has already delivered a £11 million physical regeneration of the neighbourhood and, with Birmingham City Council, now plans to turn it into the city’s first eco neighbourhood, fitting solar hot water systems to 250 existing homes.

Olivia’s four-bedroom house takes sustainability to new levels. It’s achieved an EcoHomes ‘excellent’ rating and is already winning awards with features such as a wind turbine, aerated taps and a smaller-than-average bath to save water, and high levels of insulation and an energy-efficient boiler.

“The house is very well heated and insulated,” says Olivia, “though it’s too soon to see if my heating bills will reduce, but I’m hoping so. And my kitchen is really beautiful – you’d never know it’s made from recycled materials.”