Earth Sheltering is a technique that has been used for millennia to provide domestic dwellings with protection from extremes in climate. The Romans sunk their houses into the earth in North Africa to keep them cool while at a similar time the Celts in the islands of Scotland sunk their houses into the earth to keep them warm. Below about five feet deep the ground temperature is very steady all year round, in Southern England this will be at approximately 8C-11C. In a modern context, in the UK, Earth Sheltering provides two main benefits (1) this stable ground temperature and the natural insulation provided by the earth makes the construction of 'beyond zero carbon' housing much easier (housing that has no additional heating requirement over what the sunlight provides) and (2) domestic dwellings have a greatly reduced visual and environmental impact on their surroundings. They should effectively be invisible from the local roads, points of public access and other local housing.
The key issues here are to try and preserve the countryside but to accept some new building to accommodate our growing population requirements and do it in a sustainable zero-carbon manner that minimises the burden it places on local and planetary resources. In the UK, earth sheltered eco developments do exist but there are none anywhere remotely near Test Valley or even Hampshire. There needs to be a trail blazing development here in Test Valley to show that there are alternatives to the dense 'box' housing we see almost exclusively at the moment. The costs of this building type are actually less than the traditional styles (about 40% less), the building techniques are nothing special either and it eliminates the ongoing annual heating costs - so there is little downside to this approach (a good Grand Designs video summing all this up is available here). The real questions are 'why isn't this technique being used everywhere?' and 'how do we kick start its use?'!
Earth Sheltering should be the default development type for all green field, countryside locations – in the open countryside this should be to the exclusion of the traditional, carbon producing, development types illustrated by Morgan's Field in Broughton or Abbottswood and Ganger Farm in North Romsey. Earth Sheltered housing can be made as dense as the traditional methods and will always preserve a significant proportion of the countryside that existed before. It returns most of the ‘green footprint’ of the area taken up by the homes – the roofs and green lanes will be re-colonised by grass and local wild plants, as well as amphibians, small mammals, birds and insects.
Following the logic presented above we put in an application to build three earth sheltered, eco homes, in a field we own next to where we live in Timsbury. We are two families, both long term residents of Timsbury. We believe that if Earth Sheltering was to become the norm then the outstanding landscape in the Test Valley could be preserved much as it is. We think that this proposed development should be seen as a catalyst that would help preserve the countryside rather than threaten it. We are not developers looking for an angle, we are local residents wishing to preserve the countryside that we love, to start to lead the low carbon lifestyle that we all need to move to – now – and to show that it can be done without compromising how we all currently live (no 'hair shirts' required!). Homes with lifestyles that we hope will inspire not only the local community but could be used as an example as part of the national debate about housing. We have had overwhelming enthusiasm for this proposal from everyone we have shared it with and are sure that this type of development would be very popular if it could be demonstrated to be practical.
Unfortunately the planners and planning inspectorate had other ideas and have turned down this idea. So even in the days of the Extinction Rebellion and David Attenborough's marvelous documentaries highlighting the dangers facing us there are still no meaningful sustainable development going on here in the Test Valley. There are definately wide gaps between the TVBC Local Plan and the National Planning Policy Framework and the council needs to called to account on this (see the next tab 'Planning' for more details).
Do get in touch with us if you want to get involved or want more details (see the 'about' tab). We would also be keen to hear from others trying to build eco homes in the area.
From the Oxford Dictionary 'Sustainable Development' means 'economic development that is capable of being maintained at a steady level without depleting natural resources or causing ecological damage'.