South Gloucestershire Council is working in partnership with Bath & North East Somerset Council’s housing company Aequus to build 30 energy efficient new family homes at Malmains Drive in Frenchay.
This development is the first to be delivered in South Gloucestershire through joint working between the local authority and house builder, and is part of the council’s ongoing efforts to improve local communities by delivering quality homes in a plan led approach. The agreement has now been formally approved by both parties and construction is expected to start on site in Summer 2022.
30 energy efficient family homes will be built at Malmains Drive, ranging from one to four bedroom properties. Eleven of the homes will be affordable, of which eight will be designated for social rent and three for shared ownership.
The entire development will meet the energy efficiency standards as set out by the Association for Environment Conscious Building (AECB). The new homes will include solar panels, air source heat pumps, extra insulation, mechanical ventilation and recovery systems and a dedicated electric vehicle charging point. These measures will reduce CO2 emissions and cut energy bills by an estimated 70 per cent in comparison to similar average properties. The development will also benefit from a central public open space, biodiverse and resilient planting and sustainable urban drainage.
South Gloucestershire Council’s Cabinet Member for Corporate Resources Cllr Ben Burton said: “We are delighted that the plans for Malmains Drive are advancing, and we look forward to working with Aequus to deliver these new homes.
“The properties will feature a variety of energy efficient measures which support our Climate Emergency aims for South Gloucestershire and will also help lower household energy bills for their residents.
“I am also pleased to see a green space and a play area has been included in the plans, ensuring existing and new residents will continue to benefit from places to walk dogs, children to play and to generally enjoy the outdoors.”
Bath & North East Somerset Council Leader Cllr Kevin Guy said: “It’s important that Aequus maintains a pipeline of sustainable developments to support their business plan and deliver financial returns to the council. The council, via its company has been working in partnership with South Gloucestershire Council for some time and Aequus has worked closely with them to secure planning permission for this site.”
Aequus Chair Charles Gerrish said: “We are delighted to see our proposals for the development at Malmains Drive approved so we can move forward with the delivery of these exemplar low energy homes in South Gloucestershire. We believe this is an excellent example of how working in partnership to meet our Shareholder objectives we can deliver tangible benefits to both the councils involved.”
The land has previously been approved for residential use by South Gloucestershire Council and will be developed in line with Planning Application (P20/13119/F) associated with the site.
