Rutland property designer creates energy-efficient homes in Oakham

Rutland property designer Ashley Dennis has created two homes, he believes are a first for the county.

Built on Kings Road, Oakham, the two semi-detached houses use insulated concrete forms, which have been specially shipped over from Canada.

They consist of large polystyrene blocks, which have been filled with reinforced concrete.

Ashley says homes built with them are 70 per cent more energy efficient than traditional homes. Coupled with low energy underfloor heating, the homes will require minimal heating.

Ashley graduated from Loughborough in 1991 as a furniture designer and moved to Rutland in 2009.

A passion for housing and property design led him to launch Ash Design in 2015.

The 50-year-old believes that with energy prices rising, homes should be built that are so well-insulated they need little or no energy to heat them.

He sought to use the latest technology and building systems in his design, which has other features such as a fire suppression system with infra red detectors than can direct high pressure mist. There is also a cantilevered floating staircase.

Work started on the homes three to four month ago and completion is due in March. They are on the market for £350,000 each.

Ashley now wants to create homes that work ‘off-the-grid’ or through having solar panels can create more energy than they use. It’s using my passion to create houses that don’t need any energy to heat them.”