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Bickleigh green hub aims to be Europe's first zero bills community
In the days of double-digit energy price rises and a warning by Ofgem boss Alistair Buchanan of more to come, it's more than welcome news to hear of a scheme that will reduce fuel costs as well as creating jobs.
This is exactly the commitment of the Bickleigh Low Carbon Housing and Green Business Hubs scheme that will start this year.
The project on the northern outskirts of Plymouth could establish the South West city as a national centre for mass-produced zero carbon homes and create Europe's first 'zero bills' community.
CornerstoneZED is creating a completely sustainable community, including 91 houses and apartments, transport, retention of open space and woodland, and facilitating jobs and training at a 'green hub'.
The designs of the homes are so advanced that each could generate enough income from energy produced to effectively eradicate utility bills.
New jobs will be created through construction, supply-chains, and in the provision of a managed 'green hub' for start-up SMEs in renewable technologies.
In other words, it's not just about buying a house, but buying into an ethos and a totally green way of life.
The project is well timed not just in terms of lower energy bills but also because of Plymouth's ambitious Plan for Jobs, which is a project about creating 2,000 jobs and apprenticeships through 19 specified schemes. The Bickleigh low carbon hub is fourth on the list.
And there is also the fact that Plymouth has been fast-tracked for a City Deal bid, which will have a significant element of sustainability in the business plan.
The 'green hub' at this gateway site to Plymouth can form part of a growing network of green businesses, life styles and training in the city.
The homes are not only low carbon but also low cost. A three-bedroomed house is around £185,000, with a terraced home below £130,000. Self-build kits are cheaper.
Each home comes with solar PV panels providing more than enough electricity for each household per year, hot water through renewable sources and an integrated mechanical heat recovery system and heat pump (to provide the remaining heating demands). A biomass burner and boiler can be added if requested
If a buyer selects the self-build option, the builder provides a weather tight roof and walls.
CornerstoneZED, which is running the seven-acre project on the edge of Dartmoor, is a joint venture between Cornerstone and ZEDProjects, a project 'enabling' and commercial company directed by Bill Dunster and Charles Everard.
Bill Dunster is the principal and founder of ZEDfactory, award-winning architects who have led the field in low carbon housing in the UK for the last decade.
Charles Everard says the first tasks are to reach people who may want to form the nucleus of Europe's first economically viable zero carbon community, and attract potential tenants to the green hub.
The small businesses, ideally employing up to six people, should be complementary to the project and could include the micro-generation businesses, for example in Solar PV, and solar thermal, heat pumps and bio fuels, whose components will be used with the Code 6 house product or offered to potential purchasers.
Showroom or Green DIY staff, who could demonstrate the whole range of green products incorporated in the development and demonstrated in the assembly-factory and showroom on site would also be a good fit.
The 'hub' is planned as a social enterprise or mutual, so that local enterprises can help themselves and replicate the hub in other locations.
Charles believes the ZEDlife concept offers potential to develop renewable enterprise across Plymouth and the SW and attract further inward investment into Plymouth. It will at least raise the profile of the city as a leading centre of green enterprise and training.
This year ZEDprojects is rolling out its custom build and self-procure model of land development, making it easier for people to access land for zero energy custom build and self-procure housing.
The company is launching its Zero bills strategy at Eco Build at ExCeL, London, on March 5-7.
The project on the northern outskirts of Plymouth could establish the South West city as a national centre for mass-produced zero carbon homes and create Europe's first 'zero bills' community.
CornerstoneZED is creating a completely sustainable community, including 91 houses and apartments, transport, retention of open space and woodland, and facilitating jobs and training at a 'green hub'.
The designs of the homes are so advanced that each could generate enough income from energy produced to effectively eradicate utility bills.
New jobs will be created through construction, supply-chains, and in the provision of a managed 'green hub' for start-up SMEs in renewable technologies.
In other words, it's not just about buying a house, but buying into an ethos and a totally green way of life.
The project is well timed not just in terms of lower energy bills but also because of Plymouth's ambitious Plan for Jobs, which is a project about creating 2,000 jobs and apprenticeships through 19 specified schemes. The Bickleigh low carbon hub is fourth on the list.
And there is also the fact that Plymouth has been fast-tracked for a City Deal bid, which will have a significant element of sustainability in the business plan.
The 'green hub' at this gateway site to Plymouth can form part of a growing network of green businesses, life styles and training in the city.
The homes are not only low carbon but also low cost. A three-bedroomed house is around £185,000, with a terraced home below £130,000. Self-build kits are cheaper.
Each home comes with solar PV panels providing more than enough electricity for each household per year, hot water through renewable sources and an integrated mechanical heat recovery system and heat pump (to provide the remaining heating demands). A biomass burner and boiler can be added if requested
If a buyer selects the self-build option, the builder provides a weather tight roof and walls.
CornerstoneZED, which is running the seven-acre project on the edge of Dartmoor, is a joint venture between Cornerstone and ZEDProjects, a project 'enabling' and commercial company directed by Bill Dunster and Charles Everard.
Bill Dunster is the principal and founder of ZEDfactory, award-winning architects who have led the field in low carbon housing in the UK for the last decade.
Charles Everard says the first tasks are to reach people who may want to form the nucleus of Europe's first economically viable zero carbon community, and attract potential tenants to the green hub.
The small businesses, ideally employing up to six people, should be complementary to the project and could include the micro-generation businesses, for example in Solar PV, and solar thermal, heat pumps and bio fuels, whose components will be used with the Code 6 house product or offered to potential purchasers.
Showroom or Green DIY staff, who could demonstrate the whole range of green products incorporated in the development and demonstrated in the assembly-factory and showroom on site would also be a good fit.
The 'hub' is planned as a social enterprise or mutual, so that local enterprises can help themselves and replicate the hub in other locations.
Charles believes the ZEDlife concept offers potential to develop renewable enterprise across Plymouth and the SW and attract further inward investment into Plymouth. It will at least raise the profile of the city as a leading centre of green enterprise and training.
This year ZEDprojects is rolling out its custom build and self-procure model of land development, making it easier for people to access land for zero energy custom build and self-procure housing.
The company is launching its Zero bills strategy at Eco Build at ExCeL, London, on March 5-7.
