THE Athletes' Village for the 2014 Commonwealth Games has won a top housing award.

The development, by the City Legacy Consortium, picked up the Best Green Initiative at the prestigious Homes for Scotland Awards.

The consortium is made up of house building companies Mactaggart and Mickel, CCG, Cruden and WH Malcolm.

Around 6500 athletes and officials will stay in the Village during what will be the largest multi-sport event ever held in Scotland.

After the Games, the 700 low carbon houses will be re-fitted and made available for sale and rent.

City Legacy, in partnership with Glasgow City Council, has delivered homes with an EcoHomes 'excellent rating', which produce 60% fewer carbon emissions than tradionally-built homes.

The properties feature solar thermal panels and building materials were sourced locally to minimise the environmental impact of transportation and to boost the local economy.

The Village also has a £10million district heating energy system, which powers the Village and provides heating and hot water through underground pipes.

Every home has a state-of the art heating unit rather than an individual boiler, allowing maintenance and repairs to be carried out without entering the properties.

The energy centre will result in bills around 40% lower than any other power system, making a huge impact on fuel poverty.

Ed Monaghan, spokesman for the City Legacy consortium, said: "It continues to be a challenging time for the housebuilding sector but City Legacy is working hard to deliver quality products, innovation and new initiatives, efforts which have been recognised by our peers."

The Village, which is at the heart of one of Europe's largest regeneration areas, was designed in consultation with athletes.

It will include shops and recreation areas, a dining hall, medical facility and other amenities for the use of the athletes and officials.

Work started on the massive site, opposite the Emirates Arena, in August 2009 and will be finished in January.

The house types on offer include apartments, terraced houses, semi-detached homes, townhouses and detached homes, ranging from two-bedrooms to four-bedrooms.

vivienne.nicoll@ eveningtimes.co.uk