About this home:

Built nearly 30 years ago -as an experiment- these 5 homes lead by example, working towards ecological, economic and social sustainability. The community worked together during the build in stages rather than all building their own house. Each house has 5 earth-sheltered bays that act as a heat sink, with a south-facing conservatory spanning the elevation - the heat 'battery'. They have negligible energy bills as the design ensures they don't need heating. They are completely off-grid for water and almost completely off-grid for power. Each family works 600h/year: preparing, growing, animal care, maintenance and business. They grow most of their fruit, nuts and vegetables, keep bees, chickens and sheep, and have a swimmable lake with carp.

Planning Insights:

24 months at planning

They had to plant lots of trees around the site boundary to obscure the visual impact from the road. The position of the houses was dictated by a potential archaeological site where the sheep are currently living. The main challenge was getting permission for the wind turbines, which took over 4 years. They most likely won't replace the turbines as solar is more efficient, since the trees have grown, and there is a local village turbine they could buy into.