An eco-village scheme in Cardiff has completed its final phase as part of a 10-year funding project. LivEco's Great House Farm project at St Fagans is a zero carbon residential housing development consisting of 35 zero-carbon homes.
The homes have now all been sold with new buyers already taking up resident. The homes complete with solar panels, air source heat pumps, batteries and MVHR (mechanical ventilation with heat recovery) systems, with total energy bills for a 4-bedroom home around £5 a month.
The commercial lending arm of Principality Building Society financially supported all three phases of the development, providing a £3.7m for the final phase.
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The site for the eco-village was first acquired by LivEco in 2009 when it comprised of a dilapidated coach house, farm house and barn along with several acres of land.
LivEco director Daniel Ball said: "We are very proud of these ‘low bills homes’ which have voluntarily been built beyond current building regulations to give residents a sustainable home they can enjoy. We are also thankful for the continued funding and support of The Principality throughout this project, especially in the early days when such ‘eco concepts’ were seen as revolutionary, we could not have done it without them."
Chad Griffiths, senior relationship manager at Principality said: “We’re incredibly proud to have supported this sustainable living development in Wales, seeing the development from start to finish. As a member-owned organisation, our purpose is to support communities in Wales, and this development does just that, helping residents lead an environmentally friendly lifestyle, with zero to low energy costs. We’ve been pleased to support all five phases of this highly innovative project over the last 10 years.”
Anna, a resident at Great House Farm, said: “We moved to Great House Farm four months ago and we love our new home and surroundings. Open plan living works great allowing us to spend more time with our children. We all enjoy watching the wildlife through the windows as well as exploring the nearby countryside. Last but not least it’s great to run appliances for free on a sunny day. We consider ourselves lucky to live in such a unique eco home.”
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