Local MP Visits Upcoming Zero-Carbon Homes In Tickenham

Newland Homes welcomed the MP for North Somerset, the Rt Hon Dr Liam Fox, for a hard hat tour of its inaugural collection of zero carbon homes in Tickenham, north Somerset, this week.

It was a chance for Dr Fox to go behind the scenes to see how the decarbonisation agenda is being driven forward in his constituency, and to take a look at the renewable technologies which are transforming the way modern homes are designed and run.

Progress is well underway on the first of 32 zero carbon houses in Tickenham, located between the towns of Clevedon and Nailsea, which will come complete with solar panels, air source heat pumps and electric car charging points, reducing the reliance on fossil fuels and providing a cleaner and greener alternative to homeowners. These renewable initiatives means that the house creates as much prime energy as it needs at zero cost to the homeowner.

Dr Fox MP commented: “Carbon neutral quality housing, in small developments attuned to local circumstances, is the housing we need for the future.”

Jeremy Drew, developments director at Newland Homes, said: “With all eyes on COP26 in recent weeks, we know how critical it is to be taking action on climate change now. The volume housebuilding industry is awash with future intentions but we’ve yet to see the deliverables of zero or low carbon homes built at scale. As a smaller, private developer we can be nimbler and create the type of homes that the public are demanding now. Companies can’t sit back and wait for change to happen, you have to be out front leading it.”

'The Honeybourne' house type at Mendip Gate

Newland Homes has three developments underway in the South West, providing over 100 zero carbon new homes next year. The company was the first traditional housebuilder in the UK to sign the United Nations Climate Neutral Now Pledge, which is a commitment to measure greenhouse gas emissions, implement means to reduce them, to consider offsetting and to report progress annually.

The highly efficient detached homes under construction in Tickenham will range in size with from three- to five bedrooms. It is anticipated that the first of them will be released for sale in early 2022. The houses have been orientated to maximise solar gain and depending on the orientation of the roof, between 12 and 20 high-performance solar panels will be installed to each property to generate electricity. Highly efficient air source heat pumps (ASHP) will replace gas boilers and supply heat to an underfloor heating system on the ground floor and radiators on the first floor.

The show home at Tickenham will be ‘climate considerate’, demonstrating how a new build show home aesthetic can be achieved in a sustainable manner. For example, the sofas are made of a textile called Rolefin, which is formed of recycled waste fibres, and water is not used during production or processing. Furthermore, furniture will be upcycled or repurposed where possible and reclaimed materials will be used.

Gloucester-based Newland Homes celebrates its 30th year in operation this year, and Tickenham is one of two locations in the South West where the company intends to plant an ‘anniversary woodland’. These will be created using dense, fast-growing native woodland which store carbon, improve air quality, provide a haven for wildlife and a place for people to connect with nature.

As well as the anniversary woodland, a large wildflower meadow with natural outdoor play equipment will be created. The wildflower meadow will have mown, meandering paths with gravel in a natural style, complemented with a timber trim-trail play space. Small holes in the base of fences, creating ‘highways’ that enable hedgehogs to roam freely will also be a feature of the development at Tickenham, as impenetrable fences interrupt the movement of hedgehogs and impacts on their health. All these elements combine to create a development which is environmentally positive.

Newland Homes is currently selling a range of three-, four- and five-bedroom houses at Mendip Gate, its development situated between the Somerset villages of Churchill and Langford, on the edge of the Mendip Hills. Prices start at £380,000. Find out more from Newland Homes.

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