This project in West Linton involved the redevelopment of the former primary school site to deliver 10 bungalows designed to meet the needs of the downsizer market.

The development was carefully managed to integrate with the surrounding community while providing high quality, accessible homes in a well established residential setting.

The majority of purchasers were local downsizers looking to remain within the area, alongside interest from buyers relocating from further afield.

Property Type – Bungalows

House Types – 2 house types (2 and 3 bedrooms)

Sustainable design
Utilising a sustainable design philosophy, Eskgrove made key decisions at the design and construction phase that enabled a reduction of negative impacts on the environment and the health of homeowners. It is an integrated, holistic approach without compromise and trade-offs. These homes were designed to exceed Building Regulations/Standards, while delivering an aesthetically pleasing home.

Render
We use acrylic render rather than cement render to reduce the energy used in producing the original material. Traditional cement render is prone to cracking whilst acrylic render remains stable and requires minimum or no maintenance.

Roof tiles
House builders traditionally use concrete roof tiles but Eskgrove only use natural clay roof tiles, in line with our commitment to sustainable development.

Timber cladding
Canjaere cladding is a prefinished high-performance timber cladding. The unique timber treatment gives softwoods the characteristics of hardwoods allowing them to be used in typical hardwood applications by increasing water resistance and structural stability. And unlike all other cladding, canjaere retains its original colour and does not weather down to the black/grey/silvery hue typical of other cladding systems.

Air source heat pump
Rather than using a gas fired boiler to run the heating system, Eskgrove uses an air source heat pump to drive the heating system. This works by the heat pump gas capturing the ‘free’ energy in the external air, compressing it to heat it up, and then transferring the heat to the water in the hot water cylinder which in turn delivers domestic hot water and water for the central heating. Heat pumps are rated by their coefficient of performance (COP) where typically the house owner will pay for 1 unit of electricity to capture 4 units of ‘free’ energy. It has to be said that the lower the outside air temperature, the lower the COP becomes, with the COP in winter going down to 1:2 as opposed to 1:4 in the summer months.