Haboakus Tradical^® Hemcrete^® scheme gets planning permission

HabOakus, a partnership between Hab Housing, the development company established by broadcaster, author and designer Kevin McCloud, and Oakus Wiltshire has been granted planning permission for its first development - a development that is due to be built from Tradical^® Hemcrete^® , the innovative hemp and lime thermal walling system developed by Lime Technology.

The scheme, called the Triangle, will see the construction of 42 homes in Swindon. It is intended that the scheme will meet Level 4 of the Code for Sustainable Homes, but with the potential for upgrading to zero carbon status.

The development will demonstrate HabOakus's aim to produce highly innovative, but not experimental, schemes that will achieve very high standards of design and sustainability. With a 'One Planet Living' approach in mind, the use of Tradical^® Hemcrete^® , for the construction of the walls was a natural choice.

Tradical^® Hemcrete^® , is a mix of hemp and a lime binder, which together create a material that combines sustainability with performance. The product absorbs CO2 in its manufacture (hemp, in common with all similar plants, captures carbon dioxide during its rapid growth and releases oxygen back out to the atmosphere) so has negative embodied CO2. For a typical wall section, Hemcrete® will have 130kg CO2/m² less than traditional brick and block.

The product is highly insulating resulting in walls with a very low U value ideal for meeting the higher levels of the Code for Sustainable Homes. It also has excellent thermal inertia (similar to thermal mass) and as such, houses built of Tradical^® Hemcrete^® , change temperature very slowly, which helps to reduce heating loads to significantly below that of lighter weight buildings with the same U value.

Tradical^® Hemcrete^® , is also vapour permeable and when used with lime based renders and plasters, it creates a breathable walling system for healthy living. Able to be mixed on site for fast track construction it provided HabOakus with an innovative, sustainable and efficient way of creating the structure of the homes at The Triangle.

Designed by Glenn Howells Architects, The Triangle will be built on the site of a former caravan park and plant nursery, just off Swindon's Northern Road. Due to start on site in January 2010, with completion scheduled by December 2010, HabOakus hopes to ensure the sustainable development acts as a springboard to introduce green initiatives locally.

A mixed tenure scheme, consisting of homes for sale, shared ownership and affordable renting, The Triangle is being used as a prototype for HabOakus's proposed larger second scheme which will see the delivery of around 200 homes at Pickard's Small Field, Gorse Hill, Swindon.