This award winning housing scheme was completed in 2005 and consists of 28 houses and flats and a six one bed supported housing project built to high environmental standards. Designed by the Architects Gale and Snowden, built by Midas and on land provided by North Devon District Council, Oak Meadow combined high energy and water efficiency with healthy living and a permaculture inspired landscaping.
The environmental features include: timber frames and oak cladding, solar water heating and solar gain conservatories, rain water harvesting with underground storage tanks, triple glazing, blown newspaper insulation, edible landscaping and photo voltaic powered cool larders.
To find out how the homes performed and if they were comfortable to live in and easy to manage and encourage the adoption of a greener lifestyle we have:
- undertaken household surveys in partnership with Exeter University
- measured recycling levels
- organised environmental outings
- run environmentally themed family workshops and events
- taken part in Global Action Plan’s eco-teams at home
- hosted seminars, site visits and presentations.
A measure of the success of the housing scheme is that its residents and Estate Officer have become our main ambassadors for building sustainable homes and have made presentations and spoken with a wide range of people from chief executives, to local school children and university students, to the green celebrity presenter Dick Strawbridge who visited the estate to look at the houses and interview residents for the television programme ‘It isn’t easy being green’.
If you would like to find out more please download the two leaflets below:
