Larkfleet specialises in sustainable development and has been looking at ways of alleviating and overcoming flood risk so that more land across the country can be approved for future house-building. The aspiration is to build houses that are specially designed for land that is currently classified as Flood Risk Zone 3 – which is either on a flood plain or is categorised as having a high probability of flooding – and thus chang it to low probability Flood Risk Zone 1.
The company has appointed Adrian Brotherton as director of special projects to commercialise the research. He is an architectural technician who spent more than a decade with Allison Homes before running his own Spalding-based building firm Fieldview Homes and then becoming managing director of luxury house-builder Seagate Homes.
Larkfleet is currently building a prototype house from lightweight structures and building products that will allow it to be built on a platform that could be raised at times of local flooding.
"We want the Environment Agency to approve the project in principle and I hope to be arranging demonstrations for them in the autumn," said Mr Brotherton. "After that I'm estimating another two years of development and refinement work before the houses are ready for the market."
A second aspect of Adrian's role is to manage the development of flood alleviation schemes that could lead to land in different parts of the country that is currently blighted by regular floods being released for housing development.
"I am working with specialist engineers and we are looking at water management projects to transform land that is currently classified as unacceptable for homes into areas that are safe to build on," he said.
"Both projects are very exciting prospects because flooding is a massive problem for this country and is only going to become worse,” he added. “Releasing more land for home building would obviously be very beneficial.”
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk
