Preston Farm

We’re leading the way nationally on the delivery of net zero carbon homes. Our proposals look to deliver an exemplar sustainable scheme, with sustainability at its heart.

Reducing the carbon emission beyond the requirements of Building Regulations is a key part of our design for this development and all Building Regulation measured CO2 emissions for all dwellings will be reduced to Net Zero.

This will be aided by Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHP’s) and photovoltaic (PV) in-roof/flush mounted solar panels.

We deliver infrastructure early in the construction programme. This means that existing Bookham residents can take advantage of the new community facilities we provide from the earliest stage, and new residents will have access to them soon after they move in.

An example of this is at Pease Pottage, where we delivered £7m of offsite highways works before residents moved in, and a £4.1m Primary School early in the delivery of the site.

A new community space or health care facility will be created at the heart of the new neighbourhood. We will work with the existing community to make sure the building is an asset for everyone to benefit from and which meets local needs.

We will also create a schools programme which promotes pathways to careers in planning and development for local schools and colleges.

We believe that developments should provide accessible natural areas close to people’s homes, designed to complement the wider local landscape and linking up large, nature-rich open spaces with a network of green and blue corridors.

We’ll help nature flourish through carefully designed initiatives, considerate planting and other habitat features. This includes:

• Hedgehog highways, in fences providing freedom to roam gardens and natural foraging.

• Swift bricks, built directly into the walls to provide much-needed nesting spaces.

• Bat boxes, fitted to trees to help local ecosystems by controlling insect populations.

We have a great track record in bringing these initiatives to life, with our planning applications calculating on average 13.58% biodiversity net gain. At our Martingales development in Bookham, the Surrey Wildlife Trust’s ecology consultancy carried out an assessment predicting an impressive 41.38% biodiversity net gain.

We work with local primary schools through our well established ‘Eddie & Ellie the Ecologists’ initiative.

Born out of a genuine passion to equip local children with the knowledge and enjoyment of the nature and ecology around them, we carefully developed the fully funded programme in consultation with educational specialists to create a lasting impact.

Thanks to Eddie & Ellie, CIRIA awarded us the best Community Engagement Project as part of the Big Biodiversity Challenge awards.

All homes will have a fast electric vehicle charging point, but we also provide incentives for cycle ownership amongst our residents and the potential for electric car clubs, enabling residents to have easy access to a car without owning one.

The plans include new walking and cycling routes.