'Green' Heating System Being Put To Winter Test

Residents in Harlaxton, near Grantham, are putting their ‘green’ heating system to the test over the winter months.

Larkfleet (www.larkfleethomes.co.uk) – which is based in Bourne, near Peterborough – has designed and built 29 new homes at The Drift, Harlaxton for Muir Group, with some of the funding for the homes being provided by the government’s Housing Corporation.

The homes are all fitted with air source heat pumps – a heating system which operates like a refrigerator running in reverse, taking heat from the surrounding air to heat the home. It is designed to provide low cost and environmentally-friendly heating and hot water in this way even on cold winter days when the outside air temperature is low.

The homes are also built with high standards of insulation and other features to reduce their ‘carbon footprint’.

The development comprises a range of two and three bedroom houses and bungalows which are being reserved exclusively for local people with a direct connection to the village.

Some of the homes are being made available for low-cost renting and some are being offered for ‘shared ownership’, allowing a family to buy part of the home and rent the rest from the housing association as a way of ‘getting a foot on the housing ladder’.

David Robinson, development director at Muir Group Housing Association, said: “Muir Group is delighted to be working in partnership with Larkfleet to develop homes that meet the highest environmental standards.

“Muir is committed to apply ‘green’ technology where possible and we hope that future schemes will have similar technology for heating.”

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Notes to editors:

1. Muir Group is a charitable housing association which owns and manages more than 4,500 homes in an area which stretches from North Yorkshire to Cambridgeshire. It provides quality, desirable homes at affordable rents or for shared ownership. See http://www.muir.org.uk/ for more information about Muir Group or contact Azhar Ahmed on 01480 443652.
2. The development at The Drift consists of both rented and shared ownership dwellings. The homes will only be available to local people. Muir Group will manage the properties and South Kesteven District Council will nominate prospective tenants.
3. The Housing Corporation is the Government's national affordable homes agency, whose investment functions are due to become part of the Homes and Communities Agency from April 2009. The corporation's £8.4 billion investment programme for 2008-11 is its biggest ever and is set to fund over 155,000 affordable homes in that period.