Hindloveston Road Housing in Fulmodeston, Norfolk, is an affordable housing and Passivehaus development of four, two and three bed, semi-detached houses commissioned by Broadland Housing Association.
The project was realised through North Norfolk District Council, who partially funded the project and Lord Hastings who generously donated the land in exchange for maximum sustainability and exemplar design.
Built under Rural Exception Housing policies, the brief was the provision of new affordable high quality homes for local households previously unaffordable due to distorted house prices from north Norfolk’s holiday market and high fuel poverty. The Passive House environmental approach formed a key aspect of the brief significantly reducing energy costs, leaving householders with disposable income to afford their home.
The design is partially inspired by the village’s existing 1950s social housing. Materials draw on a locally sourced selection of naturally finished timber boards, brick and black clay pantiles, particular to this part of Norfolk. The site benefits from wildlife corridors and structural diversity, new native trees for long term legacy planting were included to add aesthetic interest/wildlife habitat. The site was already a species-rich environment so the aim was to maintain its existing rich biodiversity, retaining existing trees and hedges, supplemented by additional planting. Part of the conditions attached to the planning application improved the displaced playground, with new equipment, improving access to amenity provision.
All four Houses are built to the same standard and two are Passivhaus certified. Careful north/south orientation and solar shading make best use of passive solar gain. Compact form, restriction of window size, predominantly south facing openings, high insulation levels, heat recovery ventilation and timber primary structure, together reduce energy loss. All four units beat the passive house airtightness standard of 0.6 ACH. The houses are so energy efficient no central heating system is required - a first for Passivhaus schemes in the East of England.
