There are hopes nine ‘eco-homes’ that could be built near Knaresborough will be a catalyst for greener housebuilding in the Harrogate district.
Ben Holmes, from Birstwith, has submitted a planning application to Harrogate Borough Council for the cutting-edge development, which would be built to strict environmental standards and include solar panels, air-source heat pumps and super-tight insulation.
There would even be a communal vegetable garden to reduce the need to drive to shops.
A different model
Mr Holmes’ proposed scheme for York Road in Flaxby would be a community self-build development, which is a different model of housebuilding from what is usually seen.
If he is granted planning permission, he will install infrastructure, such as paths, water, drainage and a communal area, on the site.
He will then sell each of the nine plots to people who want to build their own home. The buyers then hire an architect and builder and design a home to suit their family’s needs.
Mr Holmes’ said this allowed for a customisable approach rather than buying identikit cookie-cutter homes on a large estate.
He said:
“You see these houses and they’ve all got their gas boilers. It is wrong way to build houses. Your big developers get as many homes on as possible and there is a lack of variation and creativity. It is soulless.
“There is a different way of building houses.”
Read more:
- Green Shoots: Harrogate’s most environmentally-friendly house?
- Housing Investigation: land the size of 700 football pitches lost to new housing
Lower energy bills
Harrogate Borough Council has a register of about 200 people who want to build their own home. Mr Holmes said there is an appetite in the district who people who want to have more of a say in how their home is built.
Anyone buying a plot to build their home will have to abide by a framework of environmental rules.
This includes Passivhaus certification and the Home Quality Mark from BRE.
Developed in Germany in the 1990s, Passivhaus is seen as a game-changer for low-carbon housing. It’s an innovative design code that prioritises insulation so that a home doesn’t need any heating or cooling at all, resulting in minimal energy bills.
There is only a handful of Passivhaus homes in the district, including the Larners’ house on Bogs Lane in Harrogate.
Mr Holmes also said the houses may be factory-built, bypassing much of the polluting construction process that comes with traditional bricks and mortar homes.
He added:
“Hopefully this site will act as a catalyst for the area to build more Passivhaus. It’s a high bar to get to that standard.”
