Award-winning sustainable housebuilder Greencore Homes has submitted detailed plans to East Herts Council proposing the design, layout and landscaping for its development of 91 eco-friendly homes on the Café Field site in Puckeridge, Hertfordshire.
Following the grant of outline planning permission last year, Greencore Homes has worked with Stir Architects to design an attractive residential development where every home is modelled to meet EPC-A and align to Passivhaus standards. Achieving a net-zero operational energy balance through provision of solar PV panels on rooftops, the timber-clad homes are designed to have low running costs, a minimal impact on the environment and be comfortable all year round.
The Café Field development site will feature homes ranging from one to four bedrooms, available for private sale, shared ownership and affordable rental tenures. With everything from maisonettes to large, detached family houses, Greencore has designed a housing mix for the 6.07-hectare site that will create a vibrant community, just a 10-minute walk from the village centre.
To the west of the homes, a large area has been created as green space for both residents and local people to enjoy. This park area features wildflower meadows, an orchard, an attenuation basin, new ‘play on the way’ and a locally equipped area for play, forming a living heart to the development.
New trees and hedgerows will be planted throughout the site, helping to deliver significant on-site Biodiversity Net Gain. Green infrastructure corridors will weave through the development into residential areas, creating a strong connection with nature and ensuring residents feel immersed in a green, natural environment.
The masterplan by Stir includes two distinct character areas – Rural Edge and Village Streets. Closest to the green open space, Rural Edge has a more open character, with larger homes that take design cues from the site’s agricultural setting and history. The materials palette will include dark timber cladding and red buff brick slips, referencing local barns, along with grey guttering, window frames and metalwork to blend unobtrusively into the surrounding greenery. Homes in this area will also feature a generous entrance canopy to create a welcoming, sheltered arrival point.
In the Village Streets character area, homes are arranged closer together in a more uniform street pattern and are finished with light timber cladding and pale red brick slips, for a different, yet coherent look.
While the external timber cladding gives a glimpse of Greencore Homes’ commitment to sustainable design, much of the magic will be out of sight. These energy-efficient houses will be made using modern methods of construction (MMC), with closed timber frame panels made by Greencore Homes off site. Packed with natural insulation materials, these air-tight panels lock up more carbon than is used to create them, making them better than net zero in terms of upfront embodied carbon.
Oliver Luard, Partnerships and Investment Director at Greencore Homes, said: “We are committed to demonstrating to the public and the wider housing industry that it is possible to create truly sustainable homes at scale. Café Field will be an exemplar of how to create a sustainable new community, with a variety of sizes and tenures of homes to meet local housing need, set in a landscape that supports nature, recreation and wellbeing. We have worked closely with East Herts Council and local organisations throughout the planning process and are looking forward to getting the final approval to begin work on site.”
Ian Fenn, Founding Director of Stir, said: “We were delighted to work with Greencore Homes on this sustainable project. The resulting scheme combines climate-conscious design with long-term benefits for residents and the wider community, embracing green space and biodiversity, creating a natural setting that is closely integrated with new homes. While all new homes will be better than net zero, whole-life embodied carbon will meet the LETI 2030 target, and space heating and thermal performance will be to Passivhaus standard.”
The Café Field site is ideally located within walking distance of the amenities in Puckeridge and Standon, while offering convenient access to Bishop’s Stortford. Nearby rail connections provide direct services to London Liverpool Street in around 35 minutes, while Stevenage offers rail services to London King’s Cross in approximately 24 minutes.
The development will deliver a mix of 91 high quality homes, comprising 55-two-, three-and four-bedroom homes for private sale, 27 one-to-four-bedroom homes for affordable rent, and nine two-and-three-bedroom homes for shared ownership. Once permission is granted, the first homes are expected to be ready to move into early 2028