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New builds & developments Going green
Developers have begun building greener homes ahead of new carbon restrictions in Devon, fi nds Chris Brown, while buyers are learning about the benefi ts to their pockets and the environment
D
evelopers in Devon have been told they’ll need to build greener houses in the future. In July, Mid Devon
District Council agreed its planning offi cers should press for all new developments to be zero carbon. T e move is a pragmatic response
to the climate emergency declared by the UK government a month earlier in 2019. In ensuring new homes have a lower environmental impact, councillors also want to educate residents and home buyers to live a greener lifestyle. Buying homes that consume less energy to build, heat and light is a signifi cant step.
BUYER UNDERSTANDING New homes must already adhere to building regulation standards, and they must be marketed with an energy effi ciency rating. However, these national standards are upgraded only slowly, and act as a set of minimums. Mid Devon wants developers to go signifi cantly further. Across the county, agents are
broadly supportive of the stance, though they do see a gap in the knowledge of consumers when marketing low-energy properties. Buyers don’t always appreciate that the initial higher price of a low-energy home will pay back quickly in the form of lower running costs. “Increasingly, people want to
minimise running and maintenance costs, and if that can be linked
to environmental benefi ts, it’s a no-brainer,” says Mark Proctor, head of Knight Frank’s Exeter offi ce. One set of buyers who have got the green message, he notes, are those approaching retirement, where the concern is more cashfl ow than capital cost. Knight Frank is marketing new
homes at Trenemans, in T urlstone, that typify a developer commitment to greener living. T e contemporary homes, starting at £1m, feature air source heating, triple glazing and a heat recovery ventilation system.
OUT WITH THE OLD Conversion projects can be green, too. Knight Frank has just started marketing homes in an historic conversion project by Exeter developer Grenadier, remodelling the Grade-II listed former St Margaret’s School. T e project is marketed as ‘challenging the myth that historic listed buildings can’t compete with the effi ciency of new-build homes’, including ground source heat pumps to provide heating, hot water and electricity from solar panels. Baring Lodge, the fi rst phase of fi ve apartments in St Margaret’s Residences, has just been released, off ering luxury living within walking distance of Exeter city centre.
ACTIVE MEASURES One developer that is getting the message is Burrington Estates, which
is active in Buckfastleigh, Tiverton and Bovey Tracey. T e company is currently updating its environmental policy, making a clear commitment to delivering greener homes. T e holistic approach includes not just building low-energy homes, but including hedges rather than brick walls in new developments, to support wildlife, and reducing site waste during construction. “We’re actively taking measures to
reduce our environmental impact,” says head of marketing Gemma Smith, “and we’re lobbying for reduced plastic use within our supply chain.” T e company also off ers homebuyers options including solar PV, battery storage and electric car chargers: “We off er solar PV as an upgrade, and at the higher end of the market, there’s more uptake.” T e sight of solar PV panels on
rooftops is becoming ever-more common. And, in contrast with those ugly rectangles added as a retrofi t, panels added during construction are much less visually intrusive. Coast & Country is marketing a fi ve-bedroom home in Leat Field, Kingsteignton for £645k where the developer has included solar PVs and underfl oor heating, helping to give the homes a B energy effi ciency rating. T e agent’s Mike Griffi ths says he’s keen to promote low carbon homes, but admits such features aren’t yet uppermost in buyers’ minds.
GREEN FUTURE? Mid Devon’s action, while welcome, isn’t an absolute step. Planning offi cers often enter project negotiations with a wish list, but developers may present good reasons to water this down. Many have become
adept at using viability assessments to argue a project’s profi ts will be
6 OCTOBER 2019 • SOUTH WEST LIVING
The sight of solar PV panels on rooftops is becoming ever-more common. And, in contrast with those ugly rectangles added as a retrofi t, panels added during construction are much less visually intrusive
wiped out by certain planning commitments. T e same could happen with the zero-carbon aspiration, but at least there will be pressure at every turn to deliver greener homes, and that will directly benefi t homebuyers in the medium to long term, as well as the environment. It will be at the lower end of
the market, where there will be challenges cajoling the volume national housebuilders to green their buildings. For younger buyers, it’s all about mortgage aff ordability, and this is often a reason cited for not adding to housebuilding costs. None of the large housebuilders wanted to comment publicly about Mid Devon’s stance. But let’s hope that, as the council continues its education process, awareness of the benefi ts of greener homes will grow.
DEVON — KINGSTEIGNTON
TOPSHAM BURRINGTON ESTATES
ST MARGARET’S RESIDENCES
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