First residents move into new low-carbon sustainable development in Burgess Hill

Bellway is building 247 properties at Fallow Wood View, within the Brookleigh neighbourhood planned for the northern edge of the town, including 136 houses and 111 apartments.

All the homes at the development are being built with sustainable modern timber frames, which cuts down on construction time as well as reducing reliance on carbon-intensive blockwork. Each of the apartments have hot water heat pumps, while all the houses benefit from either air source heat pumps or solar PV panels, and all the homes have access to electric vehicle charging points.

The first seven residents moved into their new homes at Fallow Wood View from the end of October and another buyer is set to complete their purchase soon.

The initial properties occupied are three and four-bedroom houses, including the four-bedroom Reedmaker house type which won the Best House category in the Evening Standard New Homes Awards this year for its low-carbon features.

Daniel Williamson, Sales Director for Bellway South London, said: “Seeing customers moving in and enjoying their new homes makes it all worthwhile for us, so it was a significant milestone at this innovative development to welcome the first seven new residents into their properties in recent weeks.

“Fallow Wood View is a benchmark for sustainable housing. The use of solar panels and heat pumps across the development achieves significant reductions in carbon emissions and also means these homes are comfortable, cosy and efficient to run.

“We’ve moved beyond the stage of features like these being an interesting novelty, a ‘nice-to-have’. On the contrary, we are finding that many customers are actively seeking out these sustainable components when they look for a new-build home now.

“The efficiency and low-maintenance needs of our new builds at Fallow Wood View are a great attraction for buyers at any stage of the property journey – but we are seeing that downsizers are finding it especially desirable and are looking at a range of properties here, from apartments to four-bedroom houses, in order to make their lives easier and simpler.”

The wider Brookleigh scheme, which is also known as the Northern Arc, is expected to deliver more than 3,000 homes to the town. The wider project is being led by the Government’s housing and regeneration agency Homes England.

Graham Hyslop, project director at Homes England, said: “It’s great to see residents moving into award-winning homes at the Fallow Wood View development. We welcome the innovations Bellway have made around sustainability in these new homes, this makes a significant contribution towards our goal of creating an environmentally sustainable community at Brookleigh.”

There is outline planning permission in place for the homes as well as two primary schools and a secondary school, healthcare facilities, three local centres, a business park and a sports centre.

Fallow Wood View is being built in two phases. The first consists of 222 homes on a site east of Isaacs Lane and will also include areas of public open space including a village green and a pocket park. Work is expected to be complete on phase one next summer.

The second phase is for 25 new homes on a site east of Freeks Lane and will include an extension to Bedelands Nature Reserve. A link road will connect the two phases.

The development will be made up of 172 properties for private sale and 75 affordable homes for local people through low-cost rent and shared ownership.