Presenter Charlie Luxton develops community-led sustainable homes

A TV presenter and architectural designer behind a sustainable property development said it was "housing for people, by the people".

The community-led project will see 12 affordable, low-carbon homes built in an Oxfordshire village for people in need, with a strong local connection.

Four will be sold at market rates and eight will be rented at a low cost through the Soha housing association.

Charlie Luxton said: "Everyone in Hook Norton has been involved."

The first four homes have been completed and the first tenants are expected to move in by March, with the entire development due to be completed by spring.

The first tenants are expected to move in before the end of February

All the dwellings will be fitted with solar panels, connected to a microgrid and battery storage facility, in order to generate electricity and keep energy bills down.

The project has been spearheaded and funded by local residents, using community grants and donations.

Soha said it would rent out the homes at up to 80% of market rents.

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Mr Luxton said: "It's housing for people, by the people. Everyone in Hook Norton has been involved in creating the Community Land Trust, being involved in the design process, and being involved in the finance of the construction."

The trust bought a former brownfield site for the development at a low price from Cherwell District Council.

The homes are being built on a former brownfield site

The presenter said the housing was "very low embodied carbon in construction, so building it uses much less CO2 than a standard house".

Embodied carbon refers to the emissions during construction of a building rather than when it is in use.

Hannah Crawley is on the waiting list for one of the new homes.

The 41-year-old rents privately in the village and works in a local butcher's shop.

Hannah Crawley is on the waiting list for one of the properties

She said her rent has increased twice in the past 18 months, putting pressure on her finances.

"Private owners can just change their mind and say they want to put the house on the market," she said.

"I've got no security so getting into a council property would make me a lot more secure than where I am."

Artist Rachel Cronin, 45, moved back home with her parents in Hook Norton seven years ago after being made redundant.

She said she had also struggled to find anywhere affordable to rent in the village, where a one-bedroom flat can cost about £800-£1,000 a month.

Rachel Cronin moved back in with her parents in Hook Norton seven years ago

Ms Cronin added: "It's very visionary really, when it comes down to the way the houses will be built, their sustainability, their eco-credentials, it's how we should be building houses."

A community centre on site will have a shared workspace, a treatment room and two bedrooms that can be hired for friends and family.

There will also be an electric car-sharing scheme and charging points, as well as a communal garden, vegetable patch and natural planting to increase biodiversity.

Bicester-based GreenCore Homes are making the house panels for the properties off-site, using sustainable materials so they are quick to construct.

The company's director, Ian Pritchett, said the properties would be warm and cheap to heat.

He explained: "These homes will be carbon neutral in operation because we'll generate more energy each year than they use.

"They're very low embodied carbon and the structure of the building actually locks up more carbon than it emits."

Ian Pritchett said the dwellings would be warm and cheap to heat

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