Hazelmead is the UK’s largest cohousing neighborhood, comprising 53 affordable eco-homes for sale and for rent. Usually cohousing communities involve self-contained homes with communal facilities and residents who typically share similar values – in this case a strong environmental ethos. Designed to be energy efficient, climate resilient and nature friendly, the homes meet the Association for Environment Conscious Building Standards.
Work on the project first started in 2008 when a group of like-minded people formed Bridport Cohousing with the aim of building a neighbourhood of affordable eco homes for local people. The development was given full planning permission in 2016 and work got underway on site in October 2019.
Electricity comes from a microgrid serving the development, with an array of 114 rooftop photovoltaic solar panels feeding into a 1,609kWh-capacity Tesla battery. Some 54 air-source heat pumps provide heating. The homes are built on strip foundations in south-facing terraces to maximize the efficacy of the rooftop solar panels. The microgrid system allows the residents to purchase top-up renewable power from other suppliers, if needed.
The homes are brick-clad at ground floor level with larch cladding above. The upper floors use structural insulated panels (SIPs) with preinstalled triple-glazed windows and insulation, manufactured off site. At ground floor, the insulation goes into the brick cavity but it was a challenge to get the required insulation levels in the air pressure testing results.
Because the homes are designed as almost airtight environments, they are equipped with mechanical ventilation and heat recovery systems, which bring fresh air in, while recovering waste heat from stale air which is pumped out.
Bridport Cohousing has set an ambitious target of reducing the community’s carbon footprint by 40% over the first five years of living at Hazelmead, starting from full occupation of the site. Contributing to this are the growing beds at the rear of houses and communal allotment patches – providing residents with access to land for cultivating food is integral to Hazelmead’s vision of food security.
Hazelmead will encourage use of walking, cycling and e-bikes, with car-free streets to provide safe spaces for children to play. Parking provision is in dedicated areas (with one space per household) and will include charging points for electric vehicles. An ‘e-car’ club is planned.
At the heart of the community will be the Common House, which is under construction and features low-carbon build methods with locally sourced materials including straw bales.
In partnership with Bridport Cohousing, the School of Natural Building is offering training courses as part of this community build.
You can read the original article at constructionmanagement.co.uk
Definitely loving the concept! I wonder how much the houses and apartments will cost to buy or rent. The average house price in England (as of this moment) is £380,000 which translates to about $485,000 for a small two or three bedroom rowhouse with one bathroom, and the average rent for a flat (apartment) is around £1,200 per month, which is around $1,500 per month for a studio or one bedroom apartment.
Hopefully, homes in this subdivision will be much less expensive.