The encouragement of the Development Bank coupled with their helpful approach and attractive lending terms means that we’ve now got the headroom and the confidence to scale-up and deliver more sustainable homes.
Hadleigh Hobbs, Managing Director, Wellspring Homes
Wellspring Homes are developers from south Wales who are keen to transform the home environment for the better, and for future generations.
The Cardiff-based developers build properties that are powered by green energy and can decrease the amount of CO2 within our planet's atmosphere, allowing the natural environment to thrive.
By using Hempcrete in the construction of their buildings, they lock atmospheric carbon in the fabric of the building, helping create a better than zero carbon structure.
Sustainable materials
A component that Wellspring Homes offer is their solid Hempcrete walls, surrounding a sustainable timber structure.
Developed in France in the 1980s, Hempcrete is a breathable material made from a mixture of hemp and lime, and it allows more atmospheric carbon to be locked away in the material for the lifetime of the building than was used in its production and use.
Its properties help to store and release heat from the building’s walls, limiting fluctuations in temperature and reducing energy use and its breathability means the walls release internal moisture, eliminating condensation and the associated mould growth.
Working with us to deliver low carbon homes
The Welsh Government has set out its legal commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and our Green Homes Incentive offers funding to property developers looking to deliver more thermally efficient and lower carbon homes in Wales.
Wellsprings took advantage of our scheme in February 2023, when we provided a £1.2 million property development loan to part-fund the build of eight low-carbon homes in Neath, all of which are being fitted with air source heat pumps to help achieve an A grade energy rating.
Hadleigh Hobbs, managing director of Wellspring Homes, said: “Funding is essential for our industry if we are going to scale-up and deliver more low carbon homes in Wales. This is what will enable us to refine the technology and make the homes of the future commercially viable.
“From initial concept through to the final finishing touches, we are using local contractors who understand our ethos and we also have the support of a funding partner who shares our commitment to increasing the number of more thermally efficient and lower carbon homes in Wales.
“The encouragement of the Development Bank coupled with their helpful approach and attractive lending terms means that we’ve now got the headroom and the confidence to scale-up and deliver more sustainable homes.”
James Brennan, one of our property development executives, said: “Research shows that the operation of buildings accounts for around 30% of emissions in the UK, mainly from heating, cooling and electricity use. For new buildings, the embodied emissions from construction can account for up to half of the carbon impacts associated with the building over its lifecycle.
“This means that we have to address the construction methods used by new home developers and offer the financial support required to those that are prepared to make the change to help drive down carbon emissions. Hadleigh and the team at Wellspring Homes are a great example of the kind of developers that we want to support with our Green Homes Incentive.
“They really are leading a revolution in sustainable living.”
