Kevin McCloud

Grand Designs presenter Kevin McCloud has chosen Swindon for his first foray into major house building.

Hab Housing, his new development company, will form a partnership with Footstep Homes to build two developments of 150 to 200 homes in the town.

One cluster will be built at the disused Pickards Field allotment off Pinehurst Road, and the other will go up on agricultural land at Wichelstowe in the Front Garden.

The details of the homes are still in development but they are expected to meet high environmental standards.

That is because Kevin has written widely on eco-homes in the past, and set up Hab to tackle a lack of green housing in the UK.

Hab, which stands for Happiness, Architecture, Beauty, aims to create sustainable communities with housing that is environmentally-friendly.

Kevin said: "I'm very excited that Hab and Footstep have an opportunity to work with Swindon not just on one but two sites. We share the view that the future of housing in Swindon will be known for architecture of the highest order, great and vital communities and world-leading sustainability.

"We're not interested in just ticking all the boxes, we're interested in making places that people really enjoy living in, places people enjoy visiting, places where people want to stay."

The two developments will be built on greenfield sites, and production company Talkback Thames will film the progress for a Channel 4 documentary.

Kevin said: "Both sites offer challenges, not least of which is the fact they're both currently very green spaces.

"But our interest in these sites starts with what they already have: the trees, their open space and their ecology.

"We know from studies that it's possible to develop a site and in fact increase the biodiversity there.

"That remains an objective in both locations."

Coun Rod Bluh, leader of Swindon Council, said: "I am incredibly excited that Kevin McCloud has chosen Swindon for this very important project, which has a significance way beyond our boundaries.

"We have been driving hard our vision for sustainable development over the past year and to secure Kevin's project is a great boost to our ambitions.

"Kevin is an inspiring designer and individual and we are extremely lucky that he's chosen to focus his talents here in Swindon."

Hab Housing and Footstep are working with two architectural practices, dsdha and Wright & Wright, who were selected from a long list of 50 architects. The chairman of the Front Garden Action Group said he hoped the scheme would push other developers to go green.

Terry King said: "I am delighted to hear that another 150 plus homes will be built to an extremely high environmental standard, because at the moment it isn't high enough.

"Only five per cent of the Wichelstowe development has been earmarked to meet the excellent standard, which is 225 homes out of more than 4,000.

"We should be using this example to push the council into raising the required percentage. They are always saying they want to be one of the greenest councils, well here is a chance to back it up with action."

Green Belt

With the finer details of Kevin McCloud's homes yet to be revealed, green commentators expressed reservation about more green belt development.

Jean Saunders, Swindon campaign co-ordinator for Friends of the Earth, said: "I can't blame him for his lack of knowledge of highly sensitive local issues.

"But it would have been more appropriate if you were going to design an eco-home if it were built on a brown field site.

"That said, if green field sites must be used it is essential that houses are built to the highest environmental and ecological standards, way above Government guidelines."

On his website Kevin refers to the advanced green house designs being developed in Germany.

The technology being used includes a heat exchanger, which allows fresh air into a house without letting heat escape.

Jean said: "My mother was born in Germany and came here as a child, and she was shocked at how far behind we are in this country.

She remembers having double glazing in her home more than 60 years ago, and we know how recently it became standard here.

"Germany is a good point of comparison because neither of us get the extreme cold that would make thick glazing necessary. It seems that our culture is way behind in adopting new energy conservation tools."

Kevin's Fact File

Born in May 1959, Kevin McCloud is a British designer, writer and television presenter.

After studying History of Art at Cambridge University he worked as a theatre designer before setting up his own practice in interior and lighting design.

He has been commissioned to work on several high-profile projects, including the painted rococo ceiling in the Food Hall at Harrods.

His first book was published in 1990, Kevin McCloud's Decorating Book, and remains in print in five languages.

The Techniques of Decorating and Kevin McCloud's Lighting Book were published in 1995, and The Complete Decorator in 1996.

As a result of his design work Kevin was invited to appear as a guest presenter on television.

He made his debut on Home Front on BBC2, and then went on to Home Front in the garden.

But he is most famous for the programme Grand Designs - covering unusual architectural projects the programme is now in its seventh series.

Kevin also wrote and presented Grand Designs Europe, in the course of which he demonstrated his fluency in French and Italian as a translator.

In 2005 he was awarded the honorary degree of doctor of design from Oxford Brookes University.

8:53am Friday 6th July 2007

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