NEW LARKFLEET DIRECTOR TO DRIVE FLOOD RISK AMBITIONS

Bourne-based Larkfleet has appointed Adrian Brotherton as director of special projects to oversee development of innovative new schemes that could transform the building of homes across the UK in flood risk areas.

Adrian (47), an architectural technician by trade, 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.

He has been taken on by Larkfleet, which specialises in sustainable development, to look at ways of alleviating and overcoming flood risk so that more land across the country can be approved for future home building.

Adrian will accelerate development of Larkfleet’s low carbon flood risk house project and turn it into a viable commercial prospect that could one day allow homes to be safely built in areas susceptible to regular flooding.

A prototype of the house is currently being constructed from new 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,” says Adrian. “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 which could lead to land in different parts of the country that is currently blighted by regular floods being released for home building.

“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 explains.

In planning terms the idea would be to take 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 – to low probability Flood Risk Zone 1.

“Both projects are very exciting prospects because flooding is a massive problem for this country and is only going to become worse. Releasing more land for home building would obviously be very beneficial,” adds Adrian.

Larkfleet is a privately-owned house building and development organisation with a strong record in creating high quality homes and communities. It specialises in building energy-efficient housing and continually invests in research and the development of innovative new sustainable building designs, materials and construction methods.

It is also a major developer of sustainable energy projects and a provider of energy-efficiency improvements for new and existing buildings. Larkfleet companies are developing large photovoltaic (PV) 'solar farms', adding PV panels to new and existing buildings at a variety of scales, and refurbishing existing homes to reduce their carbon footprint, energy use and energy costs.

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Photo caption: Adrian Brotherton, Larkfleet’s new director of special projects.

For more information contact:

Mike Holland or Clive Simpson

OlsenMetrix Marketing

Telephone: 0333 101 0075

Email: mike@olsenmetrix.com

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