‘Your Waverley’ is putting its money where its mouth is and building homes fit for the future.
The Thakeham Homes team is on-site at Ockford Ridge.
True to its mission statement in its Climate Emergency Strategy, Waverley Borough Council has partnered with Thakeham Homes to build homes at Ockford Ridge in Godalming that will help residents save an extra 1.37 tonnes of carbon emissions every year.
The council housing is now well into its multi-million pound phased development at Ockford Ridge, to enhance the former run-down estate for the benefit of its existing residents and future generations.
It has been working with the community at Ockford Ridge for many years to refurbish homes that are to be retained, rebuild homes and create new homes for local people.
Plans for redevelopment
Six sites (A to F) are being redeveloped in phases up until 2025. The project is part of Waverley’s multi million investment in its housing stock. The majority of the new homes are available for rent. The redevelopment has also seen the ground-up refurbishment of the remaining council-owned homes.
The Sussex based company is building this phase after the successful delivery of 37 new homes on Site A last year. The community now boasts a comprehensive and beneficial programme to the residents, including rewilding activities, supporting the local school with a holistic Eddie & Ellie educational programme, and community centre building repairs.
Following the completion of its first phase of energy-efficient homes, the company is now going a step further to take action against climate change and meet the objectives of the Council’s leading Climate Change Declaration.
The latest development is to provide 17 new energy-efficient and affordable homes and will demonstrate the council’s pledge on carbon neutrality, by having a long list of energy-efficient innovations.
The homes, sited in the newly re-named Laurel Close, will feature solar panels to generate electricity and reduce heating and lighting bills; waste heat recovery from the boiler flues and high specification glazing to reduce heat losses through the glass.
Thicker ground slab insulation and wall insulation has also been added along with modern methods of timber-framed construction.
Across the site, gardens will include pollinator fruit trees and sensitive carbon-absorbing soft landscaping, making maximum use of low-carbon hard landscaping materials.
Electrical vehicle charging points will be provided in many of the new homes, as will built-in swift bricks, bat boxes and hedgehog holes in fencing to allow their free movement to support wildlife on Ockford Ridge.
Leader of the council and local ward councillor, Cllr Paul Follows along with senior council officers joined Thakeham senior management on-site recently to celebrate the new start.
Waverley’s new Mayor, Councillor John Robini, also joined them to view the latest site along with other completed projects on the estate.
Cllr Robini said:
“I’m looking forward to seeing these new homes literally rise from the ground. There will be 17 spacious, attractive and affordable homes, built to the highest current standards. I am also excited because this scheme starts to translate our Carbon Neutrality Action Plan into actual houses, by creating energy efficient, low carbon homes for the future.
“All-in-all, a fantastic development, we think, and a massive step forward from the homes built here 85 years ago.”
The council’s innovative community benefit programme will continue to run in tandem with the building of new homes. This will see the council, contractors and the local community work together to create a really sustainable legacy for the community. Current projects include further enhancing biodiversity by supporting the town council’s re-wilding of Eashing Cemetery, sponsoring mentoring at Rodborough School and financially supporting the excellent work of local Godalming skills and employment support charity, Skillways.