Eco housing projects increase

Published by

Nicky Godding

A pilot scheme between a Warwickshire housing development company and Warwick District Council will lead to the creation of more eco homes in the area.

AC Lloyd Homes, which is based at Tachbrook Park, Warwick, has started building eight eco homes as part of Phase 1B of Oakley Grove in Harbury Lane, Bishop’s Tachbrook in Leamington.

All the eco homes will have air source heat pumps with underfloor heating and other insulation features to help save energy, including smart technology, solar panels and water butts.

Construction will start in November and is expected to take six months to complete.

Alistair Clark, Managing Director of AC Lloyd Homes, said initially they had been approached by Warwick District Council to create one eco showhouse to promote the use of sustainable energy.

He said: “After starting talks with Warwick District Council nine months ago, we have decided to build eight eco houses at Oakley Grove because I felt, if it was popular, we needed to give the potential purchasers something to buy which embraced renewable energy technology.

“Once they are completed, it is going to be interesting to see if people are willing to pay a little bit more money to buy a home which will save them money over time as well as improve the environment.

“This is a really exciting project and I look forward to receiving the reaction of our customers”

Warwick District Council’s Portfolio Holder for Development Councillor Alan Rhead said: “The District Council is very pleased to announce that it is supporting and endorsing AC Lloyd’s initiative to include some of the latest energy saving and alternative energy sources available within its latest housing development at Oakley Grove.

“For some time now, we have been researching how best we can move house building into a more energy conservation arena.

“Not only will this initiative save energy and be more cost effective for the residents, but it will also deliver a more eco-friendly development.

“We very much hope that this initiative will not only attract new customers, but will also raise the bar for future housing across the district as customers appreciate and welcome the benefits.”

A much larger project, billed as the UK's first eco town is currently being developed at North West Bicester.

Leading housing provider A2Dominion is leading on the Masterplan for North West Bicester and is the developer of the first phase, Elmsbrook. A2Dominion works in partnership with Cherwell District Council and has appointed expert consultants to deliver the scheme.

Elsmbrook, is currently under construction and the first two phases have been sold and residents are now in. The primary school opens in September. This is the first phase of a Masterplan to create up to 6,000 new eco homes and jobs in North West Bicester, which will grow , in timed phases.

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.