20 November 2018: The lack of affordable city centre housing for young people trying to get on to the property ladder, including nurses and other key workers, continues. According to the Mayor of London its population will grow from 9,006,352 to 11,208,247 by 2050. So the new plans worth more than £1 billion to build 11,000 new council homes at social rent levels over the next four years promised by the Mayor are welcome but not helpful to the additional 2,201,895 people predicted.
One radical solution designed specifically to take advantage of existing city parking and other hard standings could be part of the answer and is due to be trialled in Bristol this winter.
The ZEDpod is a low cost, modular starter home that can be erected in days and is fully fitted for immediate occupation. ZEDpods are quality, prefabricated houses, manufactured off site and then assembled either sitting on the ground or on raised steel decks, with existing parking facilities continuing beneath them. Showcased at the recent Bristol Housing Festival, ZEDpods won an order of 6 pods by Bristol County Council.
Rehan Khodabuccus, Operations Director for ZEDpods says:
“Designed specifically for city centre parking or hard-standings we can build on average two, one-bedroom ZEDpod homes, for every 6 parking spaces. Our solution delivers high-quality rapidly built starter homes at a fraction of the price of conventional construction, and without the land issues. The Pods generate more energy than they need for heating, domestic hot water, lighting and appliances which means running costs are super low too. As ZEDpods have solar roofs and high specification controlled ventilation systems and breathing walls they create a healthy indoor environment for everyone.”
Greater London has some 160,000 parking spaces, either Local Authority or privately owned, of which 25% ZEDpods believe could be viable for ZEDpod homes. That’s an immediate potential for 40,000 new dwellings if Local Authorities, Housing Associations and Car Park operators can be persuaded to follow the example of Bristol City Council and the Central Bedfordshire College to adopt this approach.
“The ZEDpod concept separates housing provision from land prices using air rights over car parks. This enables affordable, quality city homes where land is scarce or expensive to be put up quickly, helping keyworkers to live near their work and at the same time maintaining precious parking spaces.”
Small but perfectly formed each ZEDpod is fully ‘Space Standards’ compliant home, providing a high performance, low energy housing solution, delivered at a fraction of the cost of comparable solutions, and with minimal demand on existing services and infrastructure. Features include photovoltaic roof panels, with integrated battery storage, plus heat pumps for domestic hot water, together with super insulated construction and triple glazed windows. The pods are available with a ‘Q Assure’ mortgageable warranty.
Each unit incorporates its own front door and private balcony area. Inside is a fully fitted kitchen and dining area, a standard size bathroom and a lounging space with TV. Stairs lead to a mezzanine floor with home office desk, double bed, wardrobe and storage space.
As a modular solution, it has all the benefits of off-site construction, rapid installation and minimal disruption. At the same time, its built to higher standards than most conventional housing with exceptional acoustic and environmental performance.
With a variety of design options covering single or multi-occupancy sites, ZEDpod starter homes can be tailored for a range of accommodation needs and are constructed from high quality, fireproof and robust materials, designed to last as long as a traditionally built home. They are ideal for city centre organisations including City Councils and Housing Associations, colleges and universities, hospitals and emergency services as well as other private sector companies with extensive city centre car parking assets.