星空传媒

It鈥檚 been a week for unlikely sources of housing inspiration. From Dar es Salaam in Tanzania comes news that eco-activist Charles Lugenga has built the 鈥渨orld鈥檚 first tyre house鈥�.

Lugenga has collected tyres on the streets of Dar es Salaam and built a house from them to publicise the problem of discarded tyres in the city.

Laudable though this is, one problem might put the brakes on it being 鈥渞olled out鈥� is that the interior smells of, er, old tyres.

Meanwhile, the homes of other African residents are under the microscope. A crack team of engineers and entomologists from the universities of Cambridge, Loughborough and New York are to study the construction methods of the humble sub-Saharan termite, believing termite mounds could 鈥渋nspire new types of buildings that are self-sufficient, environment-friendly and cheap to run鈥�.

Sir David Attenborough has agreed to film the whole project for broadcast in 2006. To be eagerly ant-icipated 鈥�

I see no tourists

The ODPM opened the gates of John Prescott鈥檚 ministerial chambers at 26 Whitehall to the public last weekend as part of the capital鈥檚 Open House event.

Lucky visitors were shown around the courtyard before being taken to the Captain鈥檚 Waiting Room, where Admiral Horatio 鈥淜iss me, Hardy鈥� Nelson鈥檚 body was laid out after it was brought back from the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

Unfortunately, it would seem Nelson has lost his pulling power: the number of visitors fell this year from 2000 to 1500.

Shhh 鈥� don鈥檛 mention the policy

It seems the post-Hutton age of the civil service is beginning to bite. At a Chartered Institute of Housing conference last Friday, new ODPM recruit Nigel Minto was confidently discussing where the ODPM was going to turn next in its bid to ensure the decent homes target was met when he spotted the lone journalist in the audience.

The metaphorical alarm bells clanged and the security gates were slammed shut before Minto 鈥� formerly of the National Housing Federation 鈥� could say anything even slightly controversial.

All he would utter on the subject of what to do about councils who had exhausted all the ways of hitting the target was the odd phrase 鈥渢here will be a staircase of escalation鈥�. Prescott must be proud.

Very green fingers

You鈥檒l be pleased to hear that sustainable communities don鈥檛 just benefit people 鈥� they also benefit wildlife: studies have shown that the nation鈥檚 back gardens support higher levels of wildlife than intensely farmed fields. As a result, the Town & Country Planning Association has launched a guide for planners, architects and builders to help them do biodiversity-friendly gardens.