David Cameron's new London home 'to get eco-makeover' » Environment » 24dash.com

This is the house Conservative leader David Cameron is set to move into in the next few weeks.

With the ground floor boarded up and a large blue skip outside, there is clearly a lot more work to be done before the politician and his family will be able to make it their home.

The removal van will not have far to travel though as the terraced house is just around the corner from their current home in North Kensington, west London.

Cameron also has a constituency home in the upmarket village of Dean, Oxfordshire, built out of the honey-coloured stone typical of Cotswold houses.

His new home in the area near Notting Hill might look like an unsuspecting Victorian terrace at the moment, but the Tory leader plans to give it an eco-makeover.

A wind turbine and solar panels will be built on the roof and rain water harvested and used in the house as part of Cameron's latest bid to show off his "green" credentials.

He claimed earlier this year that his party was now leading the way on climate change.

But his "green-ness" has come under fire in the past, most notably when it emerged a car carrying his papers followed him when he cycled to the House of Commons.

He was also forced to reveal he had turned down a more environmentally-friendly Toyota Prius in favour of a Lexus when picking his official car.

And a high-profile visit to view melting glaciers in Norway last year to see the effect of climate change first hand was dubbed a "stunt" by his own environmental advisor.

Zac Goldsmith said: "Norway is a stunt, but it's a good stunt - a useful stunt - and there's no other way of interpreting it.

"Whether he's riding a bike or visiting glaciers, it's all part of projecting a message. The message is more important than anything else while the party is in turmoil, while it's trying to come up with a new identity.

"A lot of people will say this is just opportunism. They may be right. But identifying a political opportunity - chasing votes on a green ticket - is all right with me."

Cameron has since sworn an official car will never follow behind him as he cycles to work again and said he now has large panniers on his bike to carry his work.

Copyright Press Association 2007.