Many people in Bridport are victims of housing poverty. The combination of high rents and low wages mean that lots of people are in dire need of affordable housing. Smart Community Projects Ltd have devised a model which they hope will deliver around 210 affordable homes in an eco community development in Bridport. The project will be mainly built with private sector finance and the land will be leased, not bought. Watton Village is a holistic approach to social, economic and environmental sustainability creating an energy efficient housing development that respects and enhances the existing landscape and places the wellbeing of the community at the forefront of the design.
Secure leases of up to 7 years on affordable homes with rents at or below Local Housing Allowances.
Shared ownership allows young people and families to get on the housing ladder at an affordable price.
A proportion of houses for sale ensures a balance of tenures and an opportunity for people to move within the community as circumstances change.
We are three activists who are striving to find a solution to our national affordable housing crisis and Watton Village in Bridport is our first attempt to do that. Roy Mathisen is a Bridport resident, Vince Adams is a retired businessman from Dorchester and Jonathan Lovett, our architect, is from West London.
Vince Adams
Roy Mathisen
Jonathan LovettThe current design groups the homes in blocks of anything up to 12 apartments to minimise the external shell – for better heat conservation, minimising the use of materials and reducing cost. Watton Village will use the latest timber building technology from one of the leading suppliers in the UK. Many of the building elements will be made on site using local labour in a ‘Flying Factory’, providing employment, new skills training and reducing the carbon footprint in construction.
Solar Panel 
Front 
Garden Timber 
Concrete 
Timber 
Colourful 
Rendered 
Aluminum 
We aim to use every roof as a mini power station, facing and angled towards the sun, covered in the latest photo-voltaic panels to maximise electrical generation. All the roofs will be 100% solar panels and we expect they will produce up to twice the amount of power that the development will need. We aim to store surplus power in on-site batteries to cope with peak demand or sold to the grid. We anticipate that the fuel bills for individual homes will be significantly less than average.
We aim to plant 5000 trees - all indigenous species - and place the buildings in a carefully balanced landscape of low maintenance planting to encourage wildlife to thrive. Dodhams Lane and Gypsy Lane are preserved and maintained.
Sustainable drainage system – no flood risk. Water collected and stored for use on gardens and open spaces. A series of ponds and swales creates new bio diversity minimising flooding in the village and surrounding land.
On site batteries will store surplus electricity for peak time use or sale back to renewable suppliers on the grid.
All of the houses and many of the apartments will have private gardens. There will be access to allotments and grow boxes where residents can grow crops and build community spirit. We plan an orchard next to the Community HUB.
We plan to work with RSPB / Dorset Wildlife Trust. Create a range of habitats for different types of wildlife. Planting to encourage and strengthen breeding and numbers.
Pasture managed as public open space / wildlife friendly meadow. Better management of woodland and hedgerows.
We want to raise funding for a large community HUB in the centre of the Village to include a guest suite, management office, meeting hall, kitchen and laundry. The HUB leads onto the orchard open space for outdoor events.
Access to the village is from St Andrews Road in the north east corner of the site. There is no access to or from Pymore Road. Working with expert road engineers we have an in principle agreement from the County Highways department for a traffic light-controlled junction that will comfortably cope with village traffic without causing congestion on the surrounding roads. Plus a new Pelican crossing will improve safe access to the Colfox Academy.
A City Institution has agreed in principle to provide the finance to build the 210 affordable rented homes. However, Smart Communities need to raise at least £500,000 to pay for the costs of obtaining planning permission. Fortunately, Dorset Council have committed to contribute £50,000 towards the planning costs but we will soon be setting up a campaign to raise the rest of the funds that we need.
Pioneering partnership between a major city institution, the WDDC and landowner.
Development land will be provided for 35/40 years at no cost, by the Watton Hill Trust.
Smart Communities are committed to work with the community of Bridport in developing this project. We will consult with the local community through focus groups, exhibitions and workshops. We will work closely with local councils as well. All of this is aimed at gaining a clear understanding of how we can best cater for the needs of Bridport.
