Lincolnshire-based developer Larkfleet has applied for planning permission for a new prototype house that could eliminate flood damage to homes.
The new experimental house rises on jacks above flood waters and Larkfleet is aiming to provide a model that could enable house building on thousands of unused sites across the UK, which at present cannot be developed because of the risk of flooding.
South Holland District Council in Lincolnshire will consider plans to build the 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.
The house can be jacked up 1.5 metres in five minutes
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, chief executive 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.”
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I would have thought it would be simpler just to build the thing on steel posts in the first place, Australian style.
Make it as high as you want, throw a nominal skirt around the base, and you have somewhere to park the car.
Likely cheaper and more practical in the long run.
How do you get out of the house when surrounded by 6ft of raging flood waters?
Are these people serious? Would a mortgage provider grant a mortgage for a house that potentially is threatened by flood water every year?
What would the resale value be and what guarantees are provided? If the water level is 2.00 m. What happens? Can it be insured?
I think it ia a great idea, as more an more houses are built on flood plains ! (Please note Mr Bailey)
however, I would build it on a float system like a house boat, so that if floods occur whilst you are in bed or on holiday, or the property is empty during the day, it would rise and fall with the flood water.