Ultra-low energy housing specialist, TALO, has been awarded its third and largest contract by Balma Group for a £4million residential development in Shoreham, Kent.
This project is for five family homes, named The Barons, on a rural site overlooking the Kent Downs. The architects for the project delivery are Chapter Architects.
The Barons follows the success of Croft Mews at Edenbridge, a mews-style scheme for rent and market sale, which TALO delivered for Balma to industry acclaim and in half the time of traditional construction.
TALO’s full package of housing solutions has again been specified by Balma Group for The Barons, including its advanced timber offsite superstructure system, foundation system, energy package and external timber finishes that are pre-installed offsite in the factory.
The new ultra-low energy homes at The Barons take influence from barn-style architecture and are designed to minimise environmental impact and to meet inclusive design standards for multi-generational, sustainable living.
James Everest, Managing Director of Balma Group, said: “Following the success of our two previous projects, we had no hesitation in specifying TALO’s housebuilding solutions for The Barons. At Croft Mews, TALO reduced the build programme by around six months and delivered watertight homes ready for fit-out in just four months from receipt of order. This would have taken around 12 months using traditional construction.”
“That programme saving has significant commercial benefits for us as a developer, allowing earlier completion and a much faster return on investment. Importantly, the quality of the structures and energy performance standards of homes built by TALO give us a much stronger platform for delivering new housing – whether high specification homes for market sale or affordable homes for rent.”
“The Barons reflects the confidence we have in TALO’s approach. We are now appraising all new residential sites with their solutions in mind because it enables us to build better quality, more energy-efficient homes whilst reducing risk and improving the economics of new housing provision.”
Joseph Edwards, Director of Chapter Architects, commented: “Having now worked with TALO on three projects, we have seen at first-hand how its offsite approach delivers exceptional build quality, thermal efficiency and airtightness without the significant cost premium required to achieve this standard traditionally.”
“The Barons development is located on a rural green belt site with sensitive ecology and adjacent to ancient woodland. This means maximising construction of these homes offsite in the factory is particularly beneficial. TALO’s shallow foundation system is also much less intrusive – significantly reducing excavation, vehicle movements and waste to landfill.”
“These solutions are a very good fit – for the environmental considerations of this site and to achieve ultra-low energy performance for homeowners.”
Each home in this courtyard development is targeting an EPC A rating, which is standard for TALO homes. Electric underfloor heating and hot water will be powered by solar energy, and each home will have EV charging. Mechanical ventilation and heat recovery will maintain a higher quality internal environment, while triple-glazed picture windows and sliding doors will maximise views over the surrounding countryside and will be pre-installed in the TALO factory to improve air tightness and further reduce work on-site.
