HOMES under construction, for sale or to let must come with an energy-saving rating, say council bosses in Rossendale.

New energy performance certificates will grade homes from A to G, measuring how environmentally-friendly they appear to be.

Would-be tenants or homeowners can then gauge how much their electricity or gas bills might be.

Public buildings like council offices and schools will also be required to display their own energy certificates within the next year.

Coun Peter Steen, environment portfolio holder, said: “We can’t take cheap energy for granted anymore and need to start looking at ways to cut the amount of gas and electricity we use.”