Stonewood Partnerships, which specialises in building distinctive new homes in beautiful locations, has selected Stewart Milne Timber Systems’ award-winning Sigma® II build system for their build at Orchard Field, a sustainable development of 88 new properties in the village of Siddington near Cirencester, Gloucestershire.  Orchard Field will comprise a mixture of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 bedroom homes.

Stonewood Partnerships is undergoing an expansion phase across the south west of England after being chosen as one of five partners in the UK government-backed £300 million homes building fund. The company has set a target of building and selling 300 homes a year by 2026.

Stonewood’s design team has been working closely with us to develop the frames, which are 23.5cm thick – nearly double that of standard timber frames, using our Sigma® II system for the build. Once they are clad, the walls will be a heat-saving 45cm thick to fit the ‘fabric first’ ethos of building homes whose fundamental design is energy efficient, rather than relying on retro-fitting gadgets to produce that efficiency.

Each of the homes has been designed to meet Association for Environment Conscious Building standards, which demand excellent construction and low energy consumption.

By using a timber frame build system Stonewood have managed to find a high quality, low energy building system to build these homes, using more sustainable products and ensuring energy savings for the occupiers.

Other environmentally friendly features include ground-floor underfloor heating fuelled by air source heat pumps, the use of mechanical ventilation heat recovery, small-bore pipes delivering rapid hot water to sinks and showers, solar panels and electric car charging points.

The Siddington housing development will occupy just 11 acres of the site and the rest will be devoted to woodland, landscaping and a new pond.

• 88 properties
• First build in timber frame for Stonewood
• Floor type: Factory finished floor cassette pre-fitted with 22mm Peel clean flooring
• Roof type: Trusses and where required fully insulated roof system for room in the roof application
• u-Value: 0.13
• System: Sigma® II