As part of a South Devon and Dartmoor wide Community Housing programme by South Hams District Council, AK. Architects are appointed architects under the SHDC framework for delivering multiple sites in South Devon.
Working in collaboration with Arcadis, we have developed a strong Social Impact, community housing model, which provides energy environmentally driven and efficient homes at ‘truly affordable’ rates to local residents of rural towns and villages.
Part of this important regional work includes working with local not for profit community groups such as Community Land Trusts (CLT), Local Parish Councils, or other community interest companies (CIC), to understand need, develop a brief and deliver eco homes at approximately 55% to 65% of local market value.
The not for profit model allows a structure where 75% of the houses are affordable and 25% are open market, which reverses the conventional housing delivery model by the volume house builders. The value of the open market units cross subsidise the affordable houses, assisting in the investment into the high environmental standards.
Planning permission for the homes was achieved through the exception site policy, working closely with Dartmoor National Park Authority, where high design and environmental standards, and social impact principles, were the drivers to delivering important housing to meet the needs of the local community and economy.
Using modern methods of construction (MMC), the houses will be built with timber frame construction and will have exceptionally good air tightness values and high levels of insulation. Therefore the homes will have exceptionally low running costs. All energy demand is met with renewable technologies. The houses share generous public open space, where the open market and affordable homes all share the same standards of living. This standard of living is considered to be higher than homes that are available from the conventional open market housing models.