GOVERNMENT Ministers have pledged to work with the building industry to ensure new homes embrace the latest technological innovations.

A fund of £1 billion was announced to boost innovative new methods of construction.

Former Secretary of State for Housing Sajid Javid and Housing Minister Dominic Rabb have called for closer links between Government and industry to deliver well-designed homes.

“This Government is determined to make sure that high-quality design is the norm rather than the exception,” said Javid.

They told the first-ever Design Quality Conference that there will be investment of £1 billion via the Home Building Fund to develop new, modern approaches to design and construction.

Technology such as virtual reality (VR) will be employed to design homes before a single brick is laid.

They believe ideas can be found from other countries, such as Australia, Norway and Sweden.

The conference in London heard that recent research shows that more than seven out of 10 people would support new residential development if buildings are well-designed and in keeping with their local area.

High quality design is important, according to Housing Minister Dominic Raab, and he said that the conference is an important milestone in meeting the vision of better quality homes that people want to live in.

“Ministers will focus on how developers can use better quality design in order to win over both communities and new generations of first time buyers, who expect the highest quality homes before parting with their hard-earned deposits,” he added.