Boscombe eco-flats will be community hive

5:00pm Monday 1st October 2012 in News By Stephen Bailey

CREATING A BUZZ: Palmerston Road, Boscombe, where there are plans for eco flats CREATING A BUZZ: Palmerston Road, Boscombe, where there are plans for eco flats

A DEVELOPER wants to build new eco-flats in Boscombe – with a “Big Society” feeling and a beehive on the roof.

There would be an electric car-sharing club with three vehicles and a pond for rare newts and toads.

The developers say they want a sense of shared commitment from the residents.

“These are new areas to explore as part of what has been described by politicians as the Big Society,” said their design statement. The Beekeeping Association would set up the hives and a local member of the association would collect the honey.

Other features would include rainwater-harvesting, solar panels, and fruit bushes and shrubs that can be picked by residents.

The 21 studio flats would be split into two, three and four storey blocks, sitting over a shop and an office.

One of the directors of the development firm, Alex Newberry-Edwards, said: “We had a stand at the Boscombe Community Fair and we have had a huge response – totally positive.

“We will make a profit – it won’t be a huge profit – but the real return will come from rolling out more schemes like this.”

The flats are planned for 35-39 Palmerston Road. The site is currently home to a Christian book shop, offices used by Citygate Church, and an empty shop.

Boscombe West Cllr Chris Wakefield said: “It’s great to have such a forward-thinking housing plan. This encompasses what we are trying to achieve in Boscombe. “ The developer is The Oasis Concept Limited, a firm based in Talbot Woods.

Each unit would cost £79,990. The design statement said: “We do not intend for these units to be bought by property investors as this defeats the whole ethos of the scheme.”

There would be 25 cycle places, a communal gym and a utility room.

Comments(12)

BmthNewshound says...
5:32pm Mon 1 Oct 12

The plans look great and the concept is to be applauded.
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My concern is what safeguards will be in place to prevent investors from buying the apartments and renting them out. The flats opposite Castlepoint were meant to be affordable for key workers but these have been bought up and rented out by investors.

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pete woodley says...
6:37pm Mon 1 Oct 12

There has to be safeguards this time otherwise its a scam.

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Lord Spring says...
7:52pm Mon 1 Oct 12

11 other companies registered at the same Talbot Woods address and this one was only set up in July..

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Bob49 says...
8:03pm Mon 1 Oct 12

21 flats crammed into this small space, should give cause for concern. However -

£78,000 in the bank at a generous 2/3 % interest generates around £2000 interest per annum.

A studio flat receiving housing benefit at around (£450 per month) returns over £5000 per annum, with the added potential of growth in it's price per annum.

Problem is how can the planning dept justify pushing this through - any 'wheezes' anyone ?

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Lord Spring says...
7:43am Tue 2 Oct 12

Beehive on the roof Buzz Off.

The Beehive was on the corner of Shelley / Palmerston Road

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pete woodley says...
8:39am Tue 2 Oct 12

Lord Spring wrote:
11 other companies registered at the same Talbot Woods address and this one was only set up in July..
Wakefield is a complete joke.11 other companies at that address, ?.

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Azphreal says...
10:07am Tue 2 Oct 12

studio flats means bedsits! I can just imagine how the future will go for this,after they have started to build they will find that they can not put in the rare newts and toads due to some law,the beehive will not be allowed as it would be unsafe for someone to get to it and it will turn out as illegal for the electric car share as the DVLA will not be able to prove who was driving the car. So we will end up with a lot of bedsits and nothing else.

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Bob49 says...
11:52am Tue 2 Oct 12

Perhaps the Daily Echo could tell us what the dimensions of these 'Studio' flats are ie how big ?

As given the space available they are not going to be very big. More so as the proposed 'utility room' suggests there is not going to be room enough inside them for washing machines/drier.

We have to also presume that 21 (or more) people who have be able to raise a mortgage and buy one of these 'hutches' are not going to own a car, that every single one of them will be using public transport of a bike for travelling to work.

It smacks of a sham to get permission to cram as many seperate units into this space as possible - and whilst I don't blame them, they are in it for the money, I do expect the elected representatives to represent their electors.

Not this buffonery.

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HRH of Boscombe says...
2:49pm Tue 2 Oct 12

Bob49 wrote:
21 flats crammed into this small space, should give cause for concern. However - £78,000 in the bank at a generous 2/3 % interest generates around £2000 interest per annum. A studio flat receiving housing benefit at around (£450 per month) returns over £5000 per annum, with the added potential of growth in it's price per annum. Problem is how can the planning dept justify pushing this through - any 'wheezes' anyone ?
I don't think by reading the article that the developers are after a yield on the capital in the bank as they said it would let them roll out more schemes. From what I read they're looking at reivesting the capital into more projects and not looking for a yield return yet.
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I agree with BmthNewshound. It's a good idea but shouldn't be available as a second or more property for an investor.

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pete woodley says...
4:44pm Tue 2 Oct 12

Bob49,the word is scam not sham.

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Bob49 says...
5:52pm Tue 2 Oct 12

You might say that, I couldn't possibly say such a thing ......

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Innovo Residential says...
2:02pm Tue 9 Oct 12

We will be acting as selling agents for this development and recently held an open day at the Boscombe Community Fair. The feedback was very positive from the local community, particularly from potential first time buyers, some of whom were in their 30’s and 40’s and are desperate to get their foot on the property ladder. Without exception they felt that these units would be a godsend for people in their position providing affordable property to buy. Since the leases will not allow the flats to be let, the development will remain exclusively for owner occupiers which we hope will promote a real community feel and with neighbours looking out for each other, a British tradition which has sadly been in decline for too long. The developers are also firmly committed to sustainable development and feel that we have a responsibility to future generations and so the development will be very energy efficient, run an electric car scheme for residents and maximise efficient use of space by incorporating a central washing area and communal gym. We have already received a huge number of enquiries from working first time buyers and people interested in living in this development and we hope to give you further news in the next few weeks.

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