What it's like to live inside Yorkshire's newest Passive House scheme

The homes have been built to strict Passive House energy efficient standards and are designed to maintain an almost constant temperature.

“We were upstairs at the show home and they demonstrated the windows,” says Leon, a school IT administrator. “They closed the window and the latch on the window and almost all the sound from outside disappeared. “We thought, wow that’s something new.

"We hadn’t heard of Passive House until we arrived at the development so we looked it up on the internet and discovered what the concept was about and we were very interested.”

A Passive House, also known as "Passivhaus", is a building constructed to a rigorous energy-efficient standard. These homes are designed to consume minimal energy while maintaining a comfortable indoor climate throughout the year.

Leon and Chrissie decided to buy a four bedroom home on the site and, earlier this month, were the first people to move into the scheme with their Spanish water dog, Molly.

The housing scheme is being developed by Pure Haus, an eco-conscious housing developer based in Leeds.

It bought the former quarry site in Drighlington in 2022 and gained planning permission for Spring Meadow in August 2023.

Each home has been built to secure an EPC rating A, and will, according to Pure Haus, outperform building regulations by 10 times, which will land them the official Passive House Certificate.

The properties contain double the insulation of a typical new build house, they are air tight and draught-free, triple glazed, and they use mechanical ventilation heat recovery, which filtrates the air, as well as smart renewable hot water and electrical supply and solar panels.

The construction of the properties also avoids areas where heat could easily escape, known as thermal bridges, to reduce energy loss.

"We’ve only been living here three days but we’ve already noticed a difference,” says Leon. “When the sun comes in through the window, the whole house stays warm.

"There’s no need to shut any of the doors because there are no draughts – that’s a big thing – and you don’t have to worry about opening the windows when it’s hot because the house stays at a consistent temperature.”

Leon and Chrissie’s home has a hall, kitchen, living room and downstairs toilet on the ground floor, two bedrooms and a bathroom on the first floor, plus a plant room for the air purification system. There are a further two bedrooms on the third floor, including one with an ensuite bathroom.

Four of the 20 homes on the plot are complete and Pure Haus is currently completing the snagging on the remaining 16.

On average, the Spring Meadow homes are expected to save households between 62 per cent and 90 per cent of their annual energy costs and buyers will be able to benefit from cheaper, greener mortgage options.

Furthermore, Pure Haus is offering homeowners a zero energy bill guarantee in their first year at the scheme, aside from car charging and standing charges.

Kevin Pratt, director of Pure Haus, says: “It’s really exciting to get to the milestone of our first home owners moving in. We’ve had a few delays that have been out of our control but now it’s time to get the Champagne out.”

Leon says his favourite part of his new home is the top floor bedroom, which has views over Emley Moor. “It’s very quiet up there too,” he says. “You can see traffic in the distance but you can’t hear it.”

Once they have settled in, the couple are looking forward to using their new home for creative pursuits. Chrissie, now retired, is learning to play the cello and Leon plays the keyboard and piano.

"We’re going to use the two rooms on the first floor for our hobbies,” says Leon.

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Spring Meadow homes are priced from £350,000 to £500,000 and are being sold via Monroe estate agents, with a range of detached, semi-detached and townhouse properties available.

"We’re finding that there’s a mix of people who are interested in our homes,” says Kevin. “There are people who like the science and engineering side of the homes and others who live locally and just like the look of them and want to find out more.

"The education piece is quite important for us. For a homeowner it’s quite simple. It’s a house that can be lived in like any other house. But the actual building process does require a little bit of understanding.

"Moving forward, as more people move in we will hold their hand and just make sure that they’re comfortable and that they’ve got all their questions answered.”