From the Courant.
Esh developments hope to include 16 Passive houses at Craneshough which will have Zero energy bills. Hope the Courant are correct!
An Exhibition of the type of houses will take place next Thursday (Feb 13th) 3pm to 7pm.
My interest is if these16 houses sell well it will give TT the push to try to get the sustainability rating of all new houses in the area strenghtened. Altho the NCC core strategy is almost finalised, Hexham town council are looking at local planning and that process may giveTT and the community an opertunity to increase sustainability of Housing.
David G
UPDATE
The developement is new and is not a part of the present Cranehough housung but a site to the East of Farmway.The houses are not passive but are about code level 5, (6 is the maxium). The houses hope to be energy cost neutral by using a “Climate envelope”, solar panels and a air heat pump. The test house with a family of 4 made an energy profit of £25 using the feedin tariff.The building is a partnership of Esh and Trivselhus.This is a step forward in building in the UK, a step on the road to a sustainable future.
Transition Tynedale 
Excellent news ! I am surprised the developers want to do this – I am sure its a lot more expensive to build to the Passivhaus specifications than a standard house. Can we advertise the venue etc of the exhibition so people can learn more about their excellent design ?
Sue
I have an update the houses are not strictly passive will update the post. but are a great move foward
Have advertised in the post above
In December 2006, the UK Government promised that all new homes would be ‘zero carbon’ from 2016 so this is hardly a groundbreaking initiative. In fact, it is a scheme which eats unnecessarily into Hexham’s green field sites while leaving brownfield sites undeveloped. At more than a mile from the centre of Hexham it will be populated by car-borne residents. This scheme is a retrograde step for Hexham, not a step forward.
I am a member of both Transition Tynedale and Hexham Civic Society.
I agree with the statement of “it is a scheme which eats unnecessarily into Hexham’s green field sites while leaving brownfield sites undeveloped.”, but until those brown field sites reduce in cost they will not be developed, even government subsidised low cost housing cannot afford to build hence the development of the greenbelt site opposite the Ford garage. Policy needs to change.
Yes the development may be seen to be in the wrong place, but as an innovative sustainable development that is far above the planning recommendations for sustainability it has to be encouraged by those who support carbon friendly sustainable building methods.
Does hexhamcivicsocietyadmin think that the government is going to realise the target of “all new homes would be ‘zero carbon’ from 2016”? That’s only 3 years away. Both the National Planning Framework and the proposed Northumberland Core Strategy both have the provision to remove all sustainability if the “development is not financially viable”.
Hello firefly – No, I don’t think those targets will be met. However, I don’t think that the fact that the buildings will be relatively low energy should be seen as an unqualified green light for the development.
Re Brownfield sites – unless NCC and County Council Members curtail the availability of greenfield and greenbelt sites, brownfield sites will tend to remain undeveloped. They cannot compete on economic grounds when compared to a clean greenfield site. Only small scale, local developers will develop the brownfield sites while national housebuilders, disinterested in smaller sites, eat into the green field sites with impunity. Which do we want to see prosper in Hexham?
Hi hexhamcivicsocietyadmin
I agree with developing Brown Field sites in a sustainable way is the preferred option. This option would favor small local developers using local skills, local sub-contractors and keep the money in the local economic system.
I have been attending the West Area Planning meetings and engaging with the NCC Core Strategy trying to gain some insight into the process.
How can Transition Tynedale help and work with Hexham Civic Society to advance our common views?