Innovation Technology in Social Housing
Site visit to St Swithin’s Close, Bicker 24 July 2007

RICS Lincolnshire had been very graciously invited by Lincolnshire Rural Housing Association Limited to visit their new development at St Swithin’s Close in Bicker, prior to all of the properties being occupied.

For the second event running, the sun just continued to shine throughout the evening, which was a great improvement on the previous few days of rain and grey skies. Based on the design and natural colouring used on these innovative houses, it was hard to imagine that we were still in England.
 
These timber framed, semi-detached, Karlson Hus ‘Concept’ Swedish style properties were designed in the United Kingdom and then constructed in Sweden, before being imported back into this country.

The quality and clean lines, both internally and externally of their construction stimulated a considerable debate amongst those present, including the use of pre-constructed bathroom and shower ‘pods’.

Apart from their unusual external aesthetics, the time and trouble that had gone in to designing their heating systems and the provision of LaZer2 Solar Panels to heat the domestic water has created a series of properties that are very economical to run, at a fraction of the annual cost of  similar traditional brick built residences.

With the current emergence of the Energy Performance Certificate, these properties comfortably achieve a very high energy efficiency rating.

Following an initial introduction by John Howes, Chief Executive of Lincolnshire Rural Housing Association Limited, detailed and informative presentations were made by Andrew Marston, who provided more detailed information on the construction of these dwellings, Stuart Whiting of Solar UK and Neville Boon of Allergy Plus.

This evening really was a team effort and a considerable amount of preparation had gone on behind the scenes by John Howes and the RICS Regional Office in Newark in order to make this event a success.

It was tremendously encouraging for this CPD seminar to be so well attended and a second seminar is being planning for September, to enable those who were unable to attend on the 24 July to fully appreciate these examples of innovative domestic design.

Although there were a handful of valuation surveyors present, there were also representatives from the building surveying, quantity surveying and construction, and project management faculties. Several major and bespoke developers were also in attendance, so this really was a pan-professional event.

John Templeman, MRICS