Hazelmead Bridport Cohousing

 Please Note: This is an active building site. Please wear sensible footwear. High-visibility jackets will be provided.

Bridport Cohousing   is working in partnership with Bournemouth Churches Housing Association  to construct 53 dwellings near Bridport Community Hospital at the North East of the town.There are seven south-facing terraces of two-, three- and four-bed family houses, and two two-storey apartment blocks of one-bedroom flats for single or double occupancy. Half of the homes are available for social rent through our housing association partner, Bournemouth Churches Housing Association (BCHA). The other half are for shared ownership either at 80% leasehold purchase, or through the Government’s Help to Buy scheme.

Designed to be affordable, high quality, energy efficient, climate resilient and nature friendly, Hazelmead will be managed by the community itself. Car-free streets will provide safe space for children to play. The Common House and outdoor areas will give opportunities for socialising, companionship and mutual support.

Energy Saving Attributes

Hazelmead buildings are being constructed to conform with the AECB Standard. This creates high-performance using widely available technology. Overall CO2 emissions are reduced by about 70% compared to the UK average for buildings of each type – a highly significant result given the relative ease and low cost with which this standard can be met. 

Hazelmead dwellings will all:

• Be highly and carefully insulated (avoiding gaps and ‘cold-bridges’);
• Have triple glazing;
• Have external slats above south-facing windows to reduce summer solar heating while allowing winter sun to warm the homes passively.
• Have an air-source heat-pump to provide hot water;
• Have a high degree of airtightness combined with ‘Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery’ (MVHR) which means there will be ceiling ducts to extract stale, but warm, air from kitchens and bathrooms. On its way to the outside, this air will pass through a heat-exchanger to warm fresh air on its way to living rooms and bedrooms.
•  All the terraces will have south-facing roofs with electricity generating (PV) solar panels. The whole site will be managed as a single microgrid, the largest of its type in the country. Electricity from the PV will be stored in an on-site battery, with top-up power purchased directly from a local wind farm. Excess electricity and storage capacity will be sold back to the National Grid. Managing demand and supply at the whole-site level will enable provision of power at a lower price per unit.

Cohousing dwellings are somewhat smaller in order to make them more affordable. Common facilities, including laundry, guest rooms, grounds and a meeting room, will be shared among residents.

Architects: Barefoot Architects  
Builders: C G Fry and Son

Investment opportunity

Our cohousing concept depends on the construction of a ‘Common House’ and on providing two guest rooms for visitors. To fund these Community Share Investments will earn interest at 4%. Further details from https://www.ethex.org.uk/invest/bridport-cohousing -

So far, £250,000 has been raised towards a target of £700,000. Closing date 8 October 2021.