An update has been given on a plan to replace a care home that was badly damaged in a fire with new houses.
A former care home in Chestnut Walk, Hungerford, suffered significant damage after suspected arsonists broke into the building and started a fire on Sunday, May 15, 2022.
The building is subject to a plan to knock it down and replace it with eight affordable homes.
Of those, six will be two-bedroom and two will be three-bedroom, with each being semi-detached with the development being made up of four buildings.
Plans for the care home were submitted back in August 2021.
Although the proposal was given conditional approval by West Berkshire Council’s Western Area Planning Committee in December of that year, the project has been delayed as the developers need to sign a Section 106 legal agreement with the council so that the development can take place.
The project is a join venture between Homes for West Berkshire, which is owned by the council, and developers Sovereign.
Despite the delay, both parties are committed to the redevelopment of the site, which they say will provide new environmentally friendly homes.
The specifications that the homes at Chestnut Walk will be built to will produce 75 per cent less carbon emissions, and be more environmentally friendly than those currently being built under 2013 building regulations.
That is according to Sovereign, which also stated that the homes will have equivalent carbon reduction measures to those proposed in the Future Homes Standard (the building regulations being introduced in 2025).
The developers stated that will be achieved by improved insulation, heating and hot water powered by air-source heat-pumps and solar panels. It added that these specifications will ensure that the homes will have a lower demand for energy and be more cost efficient for residents to live in.
Sovereign hopes to begin construction in the autumn.
The date is subject to finalising the S106 agreement, which involves negotiations with West Berkshire Council’s planning department and acquisition of the site for the partnership between Homes for West Berkshire and Sovereign.
Speaking about the plans for Chestnut Walk, a spokesperson for Sovereign said: “We’re really excited about the potential of this site.
“Our sector-leading Homes and Place Standard means that every new home we build will be built to the highest environmental standards.
“Our Corporate Plan has committed that by 2026 all our existing homes will have a clear pathway to net zero and all new homes will be net zero ready.”
You can view the approved application for the eight homes by typing reference 21/01868/FULD into West Berkshire Council’s planning portal.
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