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Something Different for Street? Sustainable Houses at Houndwood
The Core Group that is working on the Planning Brief for the Houndwood site is unusually comprehensive. It consists of RPS consultants together with members of the Clark family and the company, Councillors, Mendip officers, local residents and a number of organisations including ourselves.
Significantly and unusually Clarks have engaged experts from the University of the West of England to apply their Spectrum sustainability check list to the plans as they emerge. The list covers all possible social and environmental considerations, from C02 emissions to safety, to management, to layout.
This indicates the sort of development that Clarks have in mind: one that respects the environment, is good to live in and a place to be visited in 50 years' time. It is fortunate that the company is in a position to take a wider and bolder view than the standard volume-housing developer.
Consultation and visits: Also unusual is the extent of public consultation early on. At a 50-strong residents' meeting in April, RPS took note of strongly felt concerns and requests as well as of constructive suggestions. They also arranged for Core Group members to visit four 'exemplar projects', opening people's minds to innovative possibilities for at least parts of Houndwood.
We went to Compact Power in Avonmouth (a way of providing green energy from waste. Power point presentation here); Co-housing in Stroud (a popular concept abroad and growing here ); advanced social housing in Maidenhead (in wood with solar panels, sedum roof); and the futuristic Bedzed project in Sutton with its curious rooftop cowls and sky gardens. Article and pictures of Bedzed here.
Photos taken during the visit from Street are here.
Denser Housing: The visits showed how intelligent design can mitigate the effects and even turn them to advantage. Think of Georgian terraces without the heating bills, without the toxic building materials or the through traffic; or of a wooden Alpine village with light, airy rooms, soundproofing and brilliant gadgets. At least enough private space for a few deckchairs and some plants - and a parking spot for the car. Certainly not for everyone, and we found some fault with the detail. But the compensations are a clearer environmental conscience, healthier surroundings, lower bills and plenty of shared open space, together with a varying degree of communal facilities and support: maybe a clubhouse, a crèche, a car-sharing scheme, allotments...(Co-residents in Stroud even undertook to join a rota for preparing a communal evening meal. At Bedzed there was a car pool that included electric vehicles and much else.)
Houndwood so far: With anything up to 400 units pretty well inevitable, many will be quite small for economic as well as planning reasons - but so is the modern household. 22% of units will be rented out by Housing Associations for those in real need: a further 18% will be lower cost and designed to be affordable. About 2.5 of the 10-12 hectares available will be open space, including landscaping and play areas for the benefit of Street people generally. Tentative plans show the culvert as a landscaped watercourse.
What next? We were among those who took part in a Workshop considering the various issues in more detail, including how to cope with the private car - a necessity in Street if not in Stroud. The Consultants are now preparing their draft Brief, which will be open to full public consultation.
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