When Jane and Nigel Delves set about completely renovating their 3 bed stone cottage overlooking the Peak District National Park, they knew they had a real challenge on their hands. The stone cottage had been in their ownership for some time, but had suffered from years of neglect and had issues with damp, uneven floor levels and the roof.

Barratt Developments PLC are the UK’s largest house developer with around 18,000 completions per year. With ambitious Nett Zero targets for 2050, the UK cannot hope to meet its commitments without the housing market embracing new technology such as heat pumps, solar, and recycled materials wherever practicable. To that end, Barratt Developments launched their ‘Z’ house in October 2021 to showcase their commitment to a Zero carbon future. Built using advanced modern methods of construction and packed with cutting edge technology, the home is the first to be built by a major housebuilder that goes far beyond the Future Homes Standard. Barratt’s stated aim is that all their new homes will be zero carbon by 2030.

If your family home is located in beautiful Cheshire Countryside and yet only a few hundred metres away from the family business, it’s difficult to find a better example of a Work / Life balance. Understandably then, the Bateson family of Bateson Trailers fame, decided that their Grandmothers’ home would be an ideal family home for Simon and his wife and two children. ‘Tired’ would have been an estate agents’ description of the house, as it had fallen into some disrepair and was reliant on oil heating.

Heating in apartments is often challenging in that space is a premium commodity and the needs and wants of the client can vary enormously. This can be especially true in retirement apartments – properties specifically aimed at the over 55’s.
Why? Well many will have downsized from larger family homes but still want to keep important items of furniture and so useable floor space becomes very often a deciding factor. This is why traditional radiators are losing their appeal to developers like Gladman as they try to offer more living room in the same constructed envelope.

When Mr & Mrs Bowler moved into their brand new 5 bedroom Redrow property they already had ideas to extend out to the rear of the kitchen with a substantial orangery addition. Mark Bowler explains; “We had recently moved from our previous family home of 10 years and had really got used to having a garden room off the kitchen; it’s where we used to spend most of our time. The Highgrove is one of the largest properties that Redrow build, but we still felt it could be improved by a light and airy extension leading onto the garden”

HB Villages is one of the UK’s most successful provider of assisted living apartments to local authorities and one of the most progressive in terms of adopting new techniques and technologies. HB Villages provide a custom built assisted living ‘centre’ allowing persons with both physical and learning disabilities to live in comfort and with dignity, with on-site 24 hour care and assistance if and as needed by the clients. This means that stretched council services can provide better care and management of people.