New pattern book for better Welsh homes

Tai ar y Cyd, a group of 23 Welsh social landlords, have developed a pattern book that aims to help making building houses in Wales more sustainable, energy efficient, and cost effective, which is to be fully unveiled on 15th January at University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Swansea campus.

The pattern book includes 15 house types and 18 variants ranging from 1-bedroom flats to 4-bedroom houses to fully wheelchair accessible bungalows and flats. The book aims to produce higher quality homes, economic regeneration, quicker construction, use of low-carbon materials, cost certainty, reduced waste, and less disruption to communities.

Additionally, Tai ar y Cyd are set to launch a design guide to support design teams when designing high quality developments that work alongside the local area.

The new homes aim to utilise natural, local materials, such as timber from Welsh forests and manufactured in Welsh factories as much as possible, meaning that investment in new homes will contribute to local economic generation by supporting local businesses and creating green jobs and training opportunities. 

Furthermore, the homes are designed to meet both Welsh Development Quality Requirements and Welsh Housing Quality Standards.

The cabinet secretary said: “Tai ar y Cyd represents a significant step forward in our commitment to building sustainable and affordable homes here in Wales.

“We know that there is a real need for good quality and energy efficient homes across our communities and this innovative pattern book give developers the tools they need to build homes more quickly and deliver against our target of building 20,000 affordable low-carbon homes by the end of this Senedd term.

“I am proud that we have been able to support the deliver of these resources to support our local economies, grow the number of skilled jobs across Wales and increase the number of affordable homes.”