BREAKING NEWS: 'White Elephant' HS2 project is given go ahead

News has just broken in the last few minutes that unsurprisingly, the government is giving the go ahead to their HS2 project.

Solihull Friends of the Earth would like to express their absolute disappointment at this short-sighted decision given by the government without serious consideration of the actual facts. As we have constantly made clear, the actual facts make it very clear that there is no business or environmental case. For more information, please see the response we gave to the HS2 consultation; http://solihullfoe.blogspot.com/2011/07/solihull-friends-of-earth-submit-their.html

Solihull Friends of the Earth will give a much more thorough response to this decision as more details emerge within the next few weeks.

What is your reaction to this decision ? Please feel free to leave any comments you may have on here. If you prefer, you can also email us your views on solihullfoe@gmail.com .

The Eco-Build, Solihull 

Solihull residents Peter and Paula Knott are currently in the midst of a back land development, of two green eco-homes with a predicted completion of 2013. The homes will have green roofs, rain water harvesting, photovoltaic and solar thermal panels, mechanical ventilation, heat recovery, ground to air heat pipes and heat pump technology. 

The couple are owners of a beautiful home on The Crescent in Solihull. Over the years they have been approached by property developers wishing to buy their land with the intent of building a development of 4-5 homes over this area. They however did not want to inflict such a development on themselves, or the neighbourhood, but they had found they had outgrown their home, with all their children having flown the nest. From this, an idea was born, to build their own smaller development on their land, preventing large scale property developers. The couple feel strongly about waste and improper use of energy resources, both having  backgrounds in chemical engineering and past experience in their own small scale property developments, the idea of the eco built came to them.  

Moving from imaginative idea to working progress has not been a smooth course. The original planning permission was initially turned down; however permission was eventually gained after lengthy consultation, with all points for which it was denied, being overturned by the inspectorate. General council support has been negative with comments such as “do tree huggers have this sort of money” and other issues such the effect of the development on the character and appearance of the area. However with the build being a back land development its impact is very minimal, especially garden roofs.  The majority of the neighbourhood have had no objections and the couple have been very sensitive to any issues that have arisen. The Knotts are completely dedicated to the project and intend to sell their house and move into a caravan on site until one of the homes is finished. Once both homes are finished they will reside in one and the other will be put on the market.  

The build began in July 2010, and is predicted to be complete sometime in 2013. A contributing factor towards the build was the Feed-In Tariffs, the government scheme that pays people for creating their own "green electricity”. Already within the space of the build, changes to this scheme have arisen meaning that the government intends to slash incentives for household solar electricity, and although disappointed the build may not see the benefits of the scheme Peter states that they are still fulfilling their aims to “live in a comfortable home and do the right thing”. 

Looking closely at one of the two homes, it will be fitted with 9 PV-T (photovoltaic and solar thermal) panels; these panels are a single solar collector which produces electricity, heating and domestic hot water. Predicted figures show that they will produce an average of 5.23 kWh/day of electrical energy and 8.75 kWh/day of thermal energy, with a combined carbon offset of 1416 Kg per an annum from the panels alone.  The building insulation will also be approximately double the current building regulations, and much of the water will be recycled within the property. The running cost of the house is predicted to be around 30 % less than a conventionally built home.  

When asked to comment on the issue of climate change Peter stated; “Global warming is happening, even if some disagree about the causes. It seems obvious to me that we should do what we can to make our lives sustainable, and that includes building houses of quality which minimise the use of all our precious resources. From our point of view the local authority have shown passing interest in our housing development, but have missed an opportunity to learn more and perhaps use it as a means to encourage others to do the same”. 

More information on the built can be found at www.at38thecrescent.co.uk/