Orientating the house towards the south and maximising glazing on this southerly aspect can capture the sun's heat throughout the year and, with proper design, allow sunlight penetration into all areas of the building. Maximising insulation and putting minimum glazing on the north facing side will retain heat within the building. A large thermal mass and a well planned layout of the rooms can help store the daytime heat for night time comfort.

In order to make the best use of the sun's energy the layout of new estates and housing developments must be carefully considered from the outset. Constructing access roads east-west allows all houses to have a southerly aspect on either the front or the back of the house and adequate spacing will avoid over-shadowing. Taller buildings should be located on the north side of the development so they will still receive the suns energy and not block lower buildings behind them.

Plans have been drawn up to build 1,300 new homes in the Lydney area (mostly on a large estate between the town and the new by-pass) and 34 hectares of new employment land.