Low energy homes at Stonewood Homes’ sustainable neighbourhood Orchard Field are being snapped up thanks to an early bird reservation initiative offered from the developer.
All 21 two, three, four and five bedroom homes released in the first phase of sales at the development on the edge of the village of Siddington, near Cirencester in Gloucestershire, have been reserved and now buyers are able to reserve plots in the second phase.
“Because we’ve sold out on the first phase so quickly, and we have people chomping at the bit to reserve a plot, we have opened up the second and final phase so it is available for people to put their name against a plot,” said sales manager Caroline Ferris.
Buyers can secure their home of choice with a £1,000 reservation fee and then liaise with the sales team to move into arrange finance and move into the contract stage of the purchase once the build has progressed.
Already 35 homes from the second and final phase. Twelve families have already moved into the 11 acre development, which will be bordered by trees, parkland, fruit orchards and wildflower meadows on a 35 acre site on the edge of the village.
Each Cotswold stone or red brick home, designed by sister company Stonewood Design in conjunction with ecological consultant Greenguage, has solar panels embedded into the roof, timber frames, 45cm thick walls filled with eco-friendly insulation, triple glazing and airtight interiors to eliminate draughts and allow the energy-efficient heating system to cut bills by up to 70 per cent compared to standard new-built houses.
Ground-floor underfloor heating fuelled by an air source heat pump and the use of mechanical ventilation heat recovery, which removes warm air from the kitchen and bathroom and uses it to heat air flowing into the living room and bedrooms, keeps the homes warm in winter and cool in summer.
Every one of the 11 contemporary Cotswold styles of home in the community has been designed to meet stringent Association for Environment Conscious Building standards that demand excellent construction and low energy consumption.
Ms Ferris said: “People are adopting the sustainable approach because they can see the advantage of a home with minimal running costs at a time when everyone is concerned about rising energy bills. Buyers can order a battery pack so they can store up all the energy they are generating and use it to charge their cars. It’s a huge talking point at the moment.
“We are the only developers offering this because we really want to build a community of people who are invested in this development that we are so proud of. For all the talk of the homes market cooling off on the back of mortgage uncertainty, we just haven’t seen it at Orchard Field. We have had five reservations in the last week alone.”
Fruit orchards and 900 metres of hedgerow around the development will add to more fruit trees planted within four character areas across the neighbourhood that will include tree-lined walkways, courtyards, gardens, and a play area. Residents should be able to sign up for veg boxes produced from a community agriculture project set up on four acres of the site if a plan for this is agreed.
“Because it is a unique development where we have left a lot of the site undeveloped and turned it into green space, people love the idea of the wildflower meadow, the fruit orchards and the community agriculture scheme,” said Ms Ferris. “People are buying into the whole sustainability ethos.”
Stonewood Homes is the new name for the Stonewood Group’s housebuilding arm Stonewood Partnerships. Managing director Sam Smart said the feedback from buyers at Orchard Field has been excellent. “We have had some really positive comments from buyers who said they would not have dreamed of moving into a new build house but the quality of the design and build makes them feel like conversions of older homes.
“We are really proud of the neighbourhood we have created and the sustainable credentials it has. This is the benchmark for future developments and we are looking forward to seeing more families moving in over the coming months.”
Details of the early bird offer and a vrtual tour of homes on the developent can be found by searching for Stonewood Homes on Google.
