TWYFORD Parish Council is holding a public consultation event on plans for a new housing development.
Alfred Homes has submitted an application to South Downs National Park for 20 new homes on the field next to the surgery in Hazeley Road.
Residents are being encouraged to attend a drop-in session on Wednesday, July 26, 4-7pm at Twyford Village Hall.
The plans include 10 detached houses and 10 affordable tenure dwellings made up of three and two-bedroom terraced houses and two-bedroom apartments.
As well as housing there would be an play space for children, a public car park with up to 40 spaces provided by the parish council and pedestrian and vehicle access from Hazeley Road.
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The parish council is supporting the development in line with Twyford’s Local Plan which allocated the land for 20 residential dwellings following a referendum last year.
Commenting on the application, Rupert Gregory who lives in Twyford High Street, shared environmental concerns, stating the developer needs to “up its game”.
Mr Gregory said: “While it's encouraging and pleasing to finally see this development moving forward, I'm concerned that the sustainability credentials of these buildings are not up to spec.
“South Down National Park policies outline the requirements for a minimum of 10 per cent of housing to be Passivhaus - this has not been demonstrated on this development.
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“I'm also concerned that the enclosed energy statement only outlines heat pumps and solar panels for four out of the 20 plots. The remaining 80 per cent don't have any stated energy plans, particularly plots 11-16. This detail needs to be added or else I fear we're going to see plenty of end of life gas boilers on this project.
“Finally, there is no mention or provision for even simple rain water capture devices such as water butts. The houses may be beautiful to look at, but at present they don't align with the SDNP and TNP aspirations to build homes fit for the future. The developer needs to up its game.”
The transport statement confirms that: "Each dwelling will have an EV charging point to encourage the uptake of alternative sustainable fuels rather than conventional fuels powered cars."
Other recommendations such as greener and low-carbon materials that are locally sourced or recycled have been made by sustainable construction consultants RegenCo.
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