Ground-breaking Warwickshire housing scheme gets the go-ahead

Warwickshire Rural Housing Association (WRHA) has been given the green light for a ground-breaking project for the county.

Planning permission has been granted for Warwickshire's first ever Passivhaus scheme.

The development in Wootten Wawen will comprise 12 properties for affordable rent and two for shared ownership, all designed and built to the rigorous Passivhaus standard for ultra-low energy buildings.

Developed in Germany in the early 1990s, Passivhaus meaning 'passive house' focuses on creating a building which is as energy efficient as possible to reduce its ecological footprint.

Funding of £460,000 has been agreed with Stratford-on-Avon District Council for the new development, along with £350,000 from the Homes and Communities Agency, and WRHA is working closely with Wootton Wawen Parish Council to bring the plans to fruition.

The 14 new properties, seven of which will be bungalows, are being developed in partnership with Waterloo Housing Group and will be sited on land owned by Allens Caravans adjacent to the A3400.  

Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) software is being used to ensure the specifications for quality approved passive houses are met and a Passivhaus accreditor will be assigned to the development with stringent checks made regarding every aspect of the build.

The aim is to achieve a 70 per cent reduction in the amount of energy required for space heating and cooling, while also creating excellent indoor air quality.  This includes orientating the homes to maximise solar gain, fitting triple glazing and superior levels of insulation, and calculating heat losses and gains throughout the fabric of the building.

WRHA Company Secretary, Craig Felts, comments: “We are pleased to have the strong support of Wootton Wawen Parish Council and our District Councillor in showing that affordable homes in rural villages can make a positive change to the way we design and build homes.

“As well as bringing much needed affordable homes to local people, this new development will help to tackle rural fuel poverty while protecting our climate."

Cllr Mike Crowther, Chair of Wootton Wawen Parish Council said: “This scheme is completely community driven.  They identified the need for more affordable homes in the village several years ago and have worked with the Parish Council and Warwickshire Rural Housing Association to make it happen.

“It's been a long road, but it's certainly been worthwhile and we're delighted that this ground-breaking scheme is now going ahead."

Stratford-on-Avon District Councillor, Simon Lawton (ward member), added: “As with a lot of rural villages within the greenbelt, sometimes the inflexibility of the planning system has failed to deliver much needed affordable rural accommodation.  This has led to a current situation where locals are priced out of living in their own communities.

“As such, I was delighted to support this Parish Council led proposal, was impressed by the extensive consultation within the village and also by its excellent design philosophy.

“Whilst development in the greenbelt is never ideal, I concluded that this is the best available site for such specialist development in Wootton Wawen.  I was pleased that, in this instance, the District Planning Committee supported our view that the benefits to the community of this project far outweigh the limited damage to the countryside.

“This may well set an important precedent for similar villages within the district to promote their own limited affordable schemes designed to meet specific local needs."

Work is expected to start on site at Wootton Wawen this Summer.

Warwickshire Rural Housing Association (WRHA) is committed to providing affordable homes in rural Warwickshirefor local people and families who would not otherwise be able to afford to live within their own communities.

WRHA was established in 1989 and now manages over 500 homes in 43 rural communities in the county.