Type of works: refurbishment of houses and flats at Wilesborough Lees, Ashford, Kent.

Moat Housing Group, in partnership with Ashford Borough Council and The Housing Corporation, has produced an excellent example of sustainable, ecologically sound housing.

The site of the 14 houses and six one-bedroom flats is at Wilesborough Lees, a semi-rural location on the outskirts of Ashford in Kent. It boasts a Grade II smock windmill built in 1869 that is one of the largest in the south of England. It was, therefore, of particular importance in the planning brief that the development preserved the outlook from the windmill.

Accordingly, the new homes, clad in sparkling White timber and with roof tiles very similar in appearance to the clay peg tiles traditionally used throughout Kent, cluster round the windmill as if they were always meant to be there.

Moat Housing actively encourages off-site manufacture, so the homes were of timber-frame construction with a large closed-panel system. They arrived by sea from the manufacturer in Sweden, Karlson Husindustrier, and then by truck to Ashford calling for far fewer deliveries than would have been required for conventional housing.

Within six hours of delivery, the outer walls of each pair of semi-detached houses were in place, within a week they were erected and a guaranteed watertight, tiled roof installed.

Design that saves timber is an important part of the environmental and sustainability strategy set out for social housing. With less timber used throughout, including the rafters, the only roof covering possible was lightweight tiles, which also produced savings in whole-life costs compared with concrete or clay.

Decra worked with the designers and contractors on the optimum use of the specified Oberon tiles in Bark, assisted in the ridge and barge detailing, and investigated the potential for fitting solar panels.

The rafter design was also assessed by Decra to ensure that the battens were installed at the optimum gauge to minimise waste, which was a bigger issue than ever on an environmentally-sensitive site such as this.

Full training was provided for all the roof operatives.