Work will begin on Wednesday 20 January at a development of seven affordable eco homes in Hardwick Road, Little Harrowden

A ceremony to mark the starting on site will be attended by the Mayor of Wellingborough, Councillors Bailey, Waters and Timms, as well as representatives from the parish council, East Midlands Housing and the Chairman of the Northants Rural Housing Association. The houses at Little Harrowden will feature eco measures to meet the rigorous standards of the Code for Sustainable Homes and will be certified code level 4 - above current Government requirements for affordable homes. Each unit will be provided with a renewable energy source by way of a ground source heat pump, which uses pipes bored 80 metres deep to extract heat from the ground, and will provide hot water and heating. Water butts are provided to each property to catch rain water for use in watering the garden, and surplus groundwater will be fed to and held in large soak away chambers prior to being fed into the local water source. Careful consideration is given to choice of materials used for building, which for the major part come from sustainable sources. This includes everything from roof tiles to bricks, windows, doors and all other internal finishes and external materials. The homes will also features very high levels of insulation. Each property will have a landscaped space predominantly of native species that attract wildlife, and measures will be put in place to encourage bird life. An adjacent area of wildlife planting will add to the flora and fauna of the site. Planning permission was given for the site in October 2009. Permission was granted subject to a Housing Needs Survey by Northants Rural Housing Association (NRHA) and the parish council. The Borough Council of Wellingborough have provided additional funding so that NRHA and architects White Rock Homes can increase the eco measures to a higher environmental standard, which also results in savings for the tenants.

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