Britain’s first off-grid housing scheme to double in size

Proposed visuals for the project at Gables Farm

24 January 2013

Deep in rural Nottinghamshire is a little gem of eco-friendly housing. The Hockerton Housing Project, boasts a number of sustainable eco-homes, including the UK's first earth-sheltered dwellings.

It is here that plans from a new self-build partnership are underway, to strengthen the village's reputation for cutting-edge carbon-neutral housing.

The H3 Self-Build Partnership is taking up the mantle. The seven individuals behind this collaboration have strong links with the village and plan to replace a former grain barn with something special.

Plans for this new development consist of a terrace of five two-storey homes, each housing up to a maximum of three bedrooms, with an additional pair of one-storey one-bed homes.

Nicholas Martin, from the H3 Self Build Partnership said: "I'm a local resident who is interested in creating high-performance low-cost functional housing. The people involved in this partnership all have a connection with Hockerton in one way or another, and are a circle of personal acquaintances and friends."

"These projects are attractive because of their ease-of-build nature – you can put these up as simple as a Meccano set! This is purely a small self build partnership that we will deliver entirely ourselves. We're looking at completing this in around 18 months."

The cost of is estimated to be £65,000-£100,000 per dwelling.

Nicholas added, "This is a fairly conservative estimate of what it will cost to build based on standard building costs, however it doesn't include the land which will, in all probability for most people, be on an annual ground rent basis instead of being sold because that makes it considerably more affordable. The mechanics of this arrangement would be a fairly similar set up to a shared ownership scheme".

Nicholas claimed that the amount of money paid on the ground rent would be covered by the savings in energy, estimated to be around £100 a year.

Rainwater harvesting will be used to full effect, where possible, together with a reed bed to filter sewage. Hockerton has a wind turbine that serves the village and each dwelling will have a share, offsetting the carbon content of surplus energy used.

John Morrison, Planning Services at Newark & Sherwood District Council, said: "This application is looking at properties similar to the type, design and sustainability credentials of the Hockerton Housing Project and has partners on board to bring the self build element forward. The proposals have been well received locally, the Council having received a number of positive responses from local residents in support of the application."

If you like the sound of how Nicholas and his team are creating a self-build initiative, then you might be interested in discovering a little more about an independent community self-build collaboration – click here to learn further.

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