Fairbrook Grove

Fairbrook Grove is a residential community of 14 Passivhaus family homes, designed around the principles of sustainability and set within a communal woodland.

The development just outside of Faversham, Kent demonstrates what can be achieved in a small site with a design team and client committed to climate and biodiversity goals. The scheme illustrates that there are not only ecological but significant long-term financial benefits to be had from creating a sustainable landscape. The judging panel of the Whathouse? 2020 awards, who awarded the project a Gold in the best sustainable development category, concluded that the approach taken to the development was one that larger developers should follow if we are to meet our collective desire to limit climate change.

Landscape-led sustainable drainage
From the outset, the project was designed to be landscape led, and a key aspect of the masterplan was the integration of an exemplary sustainable drainage scheme. The surface water network utilises two swale systems to collect surface water run-off from the residences, and any surplus run-off from the permeable access roads runs into a shallow graded route through the site, whereby it discharges to a pond at the base of the development.

The swales are lined with plants and trees and the meandering route, coupled with localised weirs and sections of dry swale, maximise opportunities for discharge to ground and evapotranspiration. The vegetated swales also trap contaminants such as hydrocarbons, which will be broken down by exposure to sunlight and the atmosphere as they flow through the system. Shallow gradients in the swales slow the flow rate, leading to sediments dropping out of suspension.

For foul water, discreet package treatment systems are being utilised to treat the outflows in situ, thus discharging clean water to the surface water network. Treated water then either soaks into the ground or is managed by evapotranspiration.

Climate mitigation
Residents can expect to see very low energy bills from the eco-conscious Passivhaus design, which includes high-performance triple glazing, airtightness, ventilation, and space heating.

The development was modelled and designed to raise the overall levels of the site marginally and to include mounds to achieve a zero-cut fill balance. Without these designs being accommodated, the project would have resulted in almost 470 trips away from the site.