Twenty one homes have started to go up at Merlin Crescent and Sivell Place, Exeter, through an Exeter City Council initiative supported by the Homes and Communities Agency – the city’s first council houses in 20 years
The homes will offer affordable rented accommodation for Exeter people, particularly those downsizing from larger family-sized properties.
The houses will be built to sustainable and energy efficient standards, and have been designed by eco-architects Gale & Snowden, winners of many awards for ‘green’ social housing designs. They will all be super insulated with triple glazing and use a mechanical heat recovery ventilation system, preventing the need for conventional heating systems. This will enable fuel costs to be kept to a minimum, and the homes to be comfortable to live in.
Both developments incorporate external landscaping, including the use of native plants many of which will be edible or attractive to wildlife. The Merlin Crescent scheme will also include some improvements to the communal gardens of the existing Council flats at 87-97 Merlin Crescent.
Currently there are around 5,700 households on the housing register and of those 550 are in the greatest level of need.
There are more than 100 potential homes being designed to these standards across eight Council owned sites at various stages of design and planning.
(from a press release)
- Broken promises, planting trees and quality marks - September 10, 2021
- No pay rise, low ‘pay rise’ and affordability of housing - July 30, 2021
- Culture coups and opening up | 5 things in Devon - June 5, 2021
Leave a Reply