Walking up Cranes Lane in Basildon away from the tractor factory, past semi-detached houses, you enter an elliptical courtyard, sunlight playing on warm coloured brickwork, cream render and natural timber boarding.
As the ground rises, the curved terraces close the space, and you then pass through a small gap into a country lane with views of the historic Holy Cross church.
This is New Cranes Court, a carbon neutral development of 16 houses and 12 flats for Swan Housing, designed by architects The Tooley & Foster Partnership and recent winner of the ‘Sustainable Larger Housing Project of the Year’ category at the Sustainable Housing Awards 2012.
As an exemplar of eco-friendly place making, all the new homes meet Level 6 of the Code for Sustainable Homes, and are carbon neutral in operation, with typical running costs for a 4 bedroom house of approximately £6 per week for heating, lighting and hot water.
The new dwellings replace 1970’s hostel and foyer accommodation, the design of which attracted anti-social behaviour, due to poorly-defined public and private spaces. All the new family houses and ground floor flats now provide a safe environment with secure private gardens, and front entrances facing the new courtyards.
Swan Housing were keen that Code Level 6 was achieved, but the planners refused solar panels due to the proximity to the listed church. High energy efficiency was achieved with triple glazing, highly insulated factory made timber frame panels, with larger windows facing south and efficient ventilation systems with energy recovery.
To provide carbon neutral electricity and hot water to all homes a glycerol bio-fuelled combined heat and power plant was installed. Any surplus electricity can be returned to the grid. Low water use WCs and bathroom fittings reduce water demand, and flood reducing SUDS drainage is included.
Sustainable materials were used throughout, and native plant species were planted to maintain local ecology.
New Cranes Court won the ‘Sustainable Larger Housing Project of the Year’ category at the Sustainable Housing Awards 2012 and an International Green Apple Award for the Built Environment and Architectural Heritage 2012.
Project architect for New Cranes Court, Peter Ranken, is now a Certified Passivhaus Designer.