Work begins on energy efficient homes in Somerset village

Work is set to start on the construction of 25 “affordable” homes in the small Somerset village of Ashcott.Housing association LiveWest has partnered with construction firm EG Carter to meet local housing needs on the Charity Farm site on Middle Street.Sedgemoor District Council approved the development, which will see 20 homes built for affordable rent and five for shared ownership.The homes will range from one-bedroom flats to four-bedroom homes and will cost almost £7m to develop.The development, which is forecast to be completed in early 2025, benefits from grant funding from LiveWest’s strategic partnership with Homes England, the government’s housing and regeneration agency.Caroline Hughes, LiveWest’s assistant director of new business, said: “We want to help Charity Farm to become a thriving, inclusive, sustainable place for people to live. The plans for a new play space are designed to bring the wider community together.“The mix of homes, their size and style, aim to provide a range of house types to create a mixed community and reflect local housing need.“We want to create a development with its own sense of identity grouped around an open landscaped space at the centre of the site, and to protect the amenity of adjacent homes at Glebeland Close by placing private garden areas adjacent to existing gardens on this side of the site.“Our vision is to create homes and communities that people love to live in, and this is a great location which supports this.”With the ambition to reduce heat and energy bills, the homes will be fitted with air source heat pumps, which extract heat from the air to help heat the homes, and will also be fitted with solar photovoltaic panels to generate their own electricity.A play area is being provided, initially by LiveWest, as Hughes indicated, to help bring the community together. The play area will later be transferred back to the Miles & Hurman Trust to fit out and maintain.To reduce congestion and encourage more sustainable transport, residents of the new Charity Farm homes will be provided with bicycle spaces, with the new development also connecting to the existing public right of way.Matthew Vye, associate director of EG Carter, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with LiveWest and starting the construction of 25 new homes at Charity Farm in Ashcott.“This new development will create much-needed homes for the local area, and we are looking forward to seeing the positive impact they will have on the community.”John Kearney, head of provider management for Homes England, said: “It’s fantastic to see a start on site for this affordable housing scheme in Ashcott.“It’s a great example of how grant made available through Homes England’s Affordable Homes Programme can help strategic partners, such as LiveWest, unlock investment into new affordable housing supply in rural communities.”Read next: Ribbon cut for Magenta Living’s new rural homesAre you a social housing professional? Sign up for a FREE MEMBERSHIP to upload news stories, post job vacancies, and connect with colleagues on our secure social feed.