Lark fleet homes to build flood proof houses

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Larkfleet homes have submitted planning to build experimental flood proof houses on stilts which would hydraulically jack up the house in flood prone areas.

The building company hopes that if tests are successful the model would enable house building on thousands of flood-risk sites across the UK.

South Holland District Council in Lincolnshire will consider plans to build a three-bedroom detached house that can be raised up to 1.5 metres above ground level by eight mechanical jacks.

Work on constructing the house – which will sit on a steel ring beam in place of conventional foundations – could begin early in 2017.

Experiments with raising and lowering the house – including testing long-term maintenance and operation of the jacking system – will run for up to five years.

The mechanical jacking system could lift the 65 tonne house to the full 1.5 metre height above ground in less than five minutes.

The house will be a modular steel-frame design allowing it to be disassembled and re-erected on another site on conventional foundations as a family residence.

Rooftop solar panels and a battery would provide the house with some continuing electricity supply when raised above the ground and the water and sewage would remain connected through flexible hoses.

It is not envisaged that residents would remain in occupation during floods.

Instead, the householders would pack up, lock up and jack up the home before taking refuge in temporary accommodation on higher ground elsewhere.

Karl Hick, CEO of The Larkfleet Group of Companies, said: “The elevating house effectively eliminates the risk of flood damage to homes so that more land across the country can be approved for future home building.

“This will help to tackle the housing crisis that is being caused by the demand for new housing far exceeding the supply.”