A second site for an innovative development of carbon neutral, modular homes has been granted planning permission at a meeting of the Council’s Planning Committee.

Members voted to approve plans to build 8 energy efficient modular homes in Tiverton, at the meeting on Wednesday, 16 March. The permission follows approval for 6 carbon neutral homes in Cullompton last month.

Designed and built in partnership with modular house builder Zed Pods Ltd, the homes are set to be installed on a council-owned site at Shapland Place, Tiverton, only a few 100 metres from the River Exe and town centre.

The development is set to be carbon-neutral, making this one of the first social housing projects of this type, within the UK and continuing the Council’s ambition towards being carbon zero by 2030.

The homes will be manufactured off-site in a UK-based factory in the coming months, with the final installations and handover to the council scheduled for next year. The modular nature of this sustainable development means the onsite installation time will be minimal and the houses will be delivered mostly completed, resulting in little disruption to neighbouring properties and allowing the new residents to move in immediately.

Simon Newcombe, Corporate Manager for Public Health, Regulation & Housing, said:

“We are committed to providing high quality, social housing across the district and these two projects in Tiverton and Cullompton will help us deliver our ambitious housing plans. I look forward to seeing these exciting developments move forward over the course of the year.”

The site at Shapland Place, Tiverton looks to provide a mixture of housing types and 36 parking spaces. Housing included on the site are 4 one-bed, 3 two-bed and 1 three-bed homes. Each home will be completed with triple glazing and solar panels, have their own private outdoor amenity space as well as separate storage for residents’ bins, a secure cycle store and communal green space.

Find more information on the development at Shapland Place, Tiverton:
https://www.zedpods.com/mid-devon-shapland-place

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The first site in St Andrews Estate, Cullompton received planning approval in February 2022 and will provide 3 one-bed and 3 two-bed zero carbon homes with their own parking spaces.

Find more information on the Cullompton development:
https://www.zedpods.com/mid-devon-st-andrews-estate

Tom Northway, Chairman of Zed Pods, said:

"This project will not only benefit from 8 zero-carbon affordable homes, but will be a pioneering scheme of bringing previously unviable sites forward for residential use. We will build these units offsite and employ local tradespeople for onsite work, helping both the local economy and local community.”

Once works have been completed the properties will be made available for people with a local connection to Mid Devon to bid on Devon Home Choice.