Story by Dan Olner
Members of Burngreave Community Action Forum’s Buildings Group paid a visit to the Hockerton Housing Project this month.
Hockerton is the UK’s first earth-sheltered, self-sufficient ecological housing development. They generate their own clean energy, harvest their own water and recycle waste materials, causing no pollution or carbon dioxide emissions.
The homes act as huge storage heaters – they take warmth into their massively insulated shell during the summer, through their beautiful southfacing glass frontages. This keeps them warm and cozy throughout the winter – and means zero heating bills!
So – can anyone think of anywhere south facing, where there’s a hill, where maybe we could have rows of zeroheating- bill, affordable eco-housing? Oh crikey! Wouldn’t Woodside be perfect!
BCAF Buildings Group are looking for ways to bring eco-homes to Burngreave – and to make it genuinely affordable. Such homes shouldn’t just be for the rich: imagine a world where a team of previously unemployed Burngreavers were given training support to build their own eco-homes, getting a stake in its value and a new set of skills in the process.
It’s not such a crazy idea. Housing Associations are working on ‘mutual home ownership’. Maybe we could involve organisations like this in Burngreave?
Here’s Hockerton’s website (and check out the virtual tour): http://www.hockerton.demon.co.uk/ The next Buildings Group meetings are 5th April 2005 and 3rd May 2005, 6.30pm at Recycling Matters. Telephone BCAF on 272 8008 for more information.