Kenilworth and Southam MP, Jeremy Wright officially opened the ‘Insight House’ from David Wilson Homes last week as pupils from Lighthorne Heath Primary School near Warwick toured the property to find out more about sustainability.
The interactive experience at the developer’s Heritage Grange development on Banbury Road in Lighthorne Heath, has been designed to show children how new homes are built to save energy and be kinder to the planet, and illustrate what they can do in their own homes to live greener.
Mr Wright was joined by 25 children aged between eight and 11 along with the David Wilson Homes team and other local VIPs including the newly appointed Chair of Stratford District Council, Councillor Mark Cargill.
The children undertook 30 questions in a workbook and are now part of an ongoing project called the Sustainability Squad.
The house features extensive wall displays explaining the construction process and the principles and practices that David Wilson Homes, part of the Barratt Group, follows in order to minimise the impact of development and provide homeowners with more energy efficient homes. There are also videos, games and cutaways that show inside the workings of the house.
The Insight House is now available for other schools, clubs and societies to tour.
Mr Wright said, “It was a great pleasure to visit the Insight House and spend time with pupils from Lighthorne Heath Primary School. They certainly had a thing or two to share with me about sustainability and their enthusiasm for learning was infectious.
“This is a great facility and a useful way to understand the ways in which sustainability can be part of the construction process.”
Cassie Cox, teacher at Lighthorne Heath Primary School said, “The children loved their visit to the Insight House. They’ve been learning about sustainability in their geography and science lessons so it was great to actually go out and see how some of the topics are present in a real life setting. They all have a much greater awareness now of how important the environment is and what they can do to help protect it.”
Dominic Harman, Managing Director of David Wilson Homes Mercia added, “We are delighted to have opened our Insight House. After many months in the making, this landmark property showcases everything we do to help make our homes greener and more environmentally friendly.
“It also provides lots of interesting features that will hopefully inspire young people to take green issues into their own hands and even think about how they can be a part of building the sustainable homes of the future.”
