South Somerset Homes building new homes for local people
8 March 2004

From left to right: Barbara Malcolm (Mayoress of Chard), Geoff Atkinson (Chief Executive, South Somerset Homes), John Malcolm (Mayor and Councillor of Chard), Nigel Mermagen (Chard Councillor), Chris Hyde (Area Director, ROK)

South Somerset Homes is building four new homes for rent in Chard. The homes, which are being built at Victoria Avenue, will be two-bedroom flats for local people and will be completed in April 2004. The project has been jointly funded by South Somerset Homes, the Housing Corporation and South Somerset District Council with a total build cost of £280,000.

The homes are being constructed using cutting edge building technology in the form of Space4; the UK's largest producer of off site manufactured construction systems. The main body of the home (structural walls, roofing and flooring) will be supplied by Space 4, with main contractor ROK completing the internal fitting out and external cladding. South Somerset Homes is the first housing association in the UK to build new homes using Space4.

The panel system construction process provides South Somerset Homes with an innovative approach that reduces the total construction time by up to 50%. The Space4 construction components are assembled on-site in 1–2 working days: typically a 6-week process for masonry construction.

The insulation panels enable the homes to exceed the Government's latest Building Regulation Part L requirements with outstanding thermal performance, typically scoring a maximum 10 points against the ‘Ecohomes' building measure.

Geoff Atkinson, Chief Executive of South Somerset Homes, said “This project is just the beginning - over the next 10 years South Somerset Homes will build in partnership with ROK, Connaught and Calfordseaden over 2500 new homes for local people.”

Chris Hyde, Area Director at ROK said, “We are looking forward to working together to provide quality homes for the community in which we work. At ROK we pride ourselves in delivering the best service and look forward to developing our relationship with South Somerset Homes.”

From left to right: Chris Hyde (Area Director, ROK), Versha Koria ( Housing Corporation ), Barbara Malcolm (Mayoress of Chard), Rosemary Leaf (Board Member), John Malcolm (Mayor and Councillor of Chard), Roy Mills (Board Member), Shaun O'Reilly (Board Member)