This year we made great headway on a project to extensively refurbish and remodel the former Mountbatten House on the Southbrook estate in Daventry. Ocean House – renamed in response to a local community vote – is now home to 21 one and two-bedroom flats to support couples, families and single people.
Thanks to major investment in the building’s sustainability, it now achieves the highest Energy Performance Certificate rating of A, making the homes more comfortable and cheaper to heat. Each flat benefits from high heat retention storage heaters throughout and solar panels on the roof.
Mountbatten House didn’t really meet the needs of the local community and sadly there was a history of crime and antisocial behaviour so a big change was needed. That’s why we decided to completely reconfigure and refurbish, including improved security and lighting, to make it more suitable for couples and small families who we think will help to build a stronger local community.
The work took longer than expected thanks to the pandemic and some issues with the building that we uncovered along the way. More importantly though, we decided to go ‘all out’ and invest in multiple upgrades to make this a bigger and better asset for the community and those who live there for years to come. A big part of this has been greatly improving its energy performance so it will not only help the people who will live there, but the planet too.
