Eco homes are being created on a brownfield site that was formerly occupied by a furniture factory in Westgate.
The Driftwood Mews development in Suffolk Avenue has 12 homes being created in phase one of the scheme – due for completion in October – with another 11 or 12 with a different exterior design to be finished next year.
The homes will all be A-rated EPC certified due to air source heat pump central heating, solar panels, an electric vehicle charging point per property and heat recovery mechanical ventilation.
Development boss Graham Ross opened the Atmosphere factory site producing Lexerton brand furniture in 1995. A move to Manston Business Park with a downsizing of the business in 2021 opened the opportunity to create the new homes in what is thought to be Thanet’s first sustainable eco development on this scale.
The site had two factory properties, a barrel vault building that initially was going to be converted, and a modern workshop site. There was also an office building.
Graham said: “(The) eco theme is the socially responsible thing any builder should do. Not building homes for the future, with energy costs the way the are now and emissions you get from a house, is morally unjustifiable.”
The details of the homes will mean solar power could provide enough energy for householders to live on electricity produced by their property – depending on their energy consumption – resulting in zero cost energy bills.
Graham said: “You can’t legislate for people who might leave their windows open in the winter or run a tumble dryer daily but these two-bed homes generate energy so you can do the cooking, have the TV and fridge freezer etc.”
The properties have waste water heat recovery, so the waste water heat is used to warm cold water in the tank and a mechanical ventilation system that keeps air fresh but can also keep it warm.
There is also underfloor heating and hi-tech insulation.
Each home will collect free energy from the sun using PV (photovoltaic), or PV-T (photo-voltaic thermal) panels, with the potential to store surplus summer heat in the soil within the foundations of the building in an earth energy bank.
There is the additional option to store surplus electrical energy in a battery. The stored low-grade heat, can then be withdrawn for use within the building via a heat pump which raises the temperature to a level that can be used for space heating and domestic hot water.
Graham said the target market is wide, from starter homes to retirees.
He said: “They are packed with technology so people like first-time buyers have no other costs and we believe some mortgages recognise this type of house and so that people will be able to afford that mortgage more easily because they aren’t also facing huge electric bills.
“There is also wider potential for retiree, people who are living on a fixed income so their bills are managed, and hopefully will have a wide sort of community.”
The cost of building properties to an A rated EPC with the environmentally friendly aspects is greater than a standard build but Graham says: “They are two up two down, small houses but we think people will see the value in them.”
He added: “All the trades we have used have been very local, from architects to timber suppliers, they are all based at Manston near the factory.”
The Suffolk Avenue zero carbon project uses the UK Green Building Council’s (UKGBC) definition of net zero carbon.
This includes:
- Low energy use
- Annual energy use and renewable energy generation on-site reported and independently verified in-use each year for the first 5 years.
- Reducing construction impacts
- Low carbon energy supply, heating and hot water should not be generated using fossil fuels.
A planning application for the development was initially lodged with Thanet council in 2018. Some objections were made in relation to access, traffic and parking and overlooking.
Amended plans were lodged in 2020 and permission was granted in 2021.
The Driftwood Mews homes by Square Circle Developments are on sale for £325,000. The show home is now complete and available to view.
The properties are being marketed by Miles & Barr.
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