Fareham Housing, the housing department at Fareham Borough Council, has announced another step toward making its Assheton Court development in Portchester even more energy efficient.

Assheton Court will be a purpose-built affordable housing development for the over 55’s, providing 60 much needed affordable homes for older persons in Fareham.  On Friday 2 February 2024, planning permission was granted for Fareham Housing to install two communal Air Source Heat Pumps at the development, following a thorough evaluation of factors including Co2 emissions, energy performance, and operating costs.

Air Source Heat Pumps work by taking heat from outside air and increasing its temperature to provide heating and hot water for a building – like a refrigerator in reverse. They can do this even on a cold day.

Introducing Air Source Heat Pumps at Assheton Court represents improvements over and above current building regulations and will not only reduce the building’s carbon emissions and improve energy efficiency, but also reduce the operating costs of the development.

Executive Member for Housing at Fareham Borough Council, Councillor David Foot, said: “I am delighted that Fareham Housing has been given the go ahead to install two Air Source Heat Pumps at Assheton Court. Permission to install this technology when building work commences will ensure that the development will deliver high levels of energy efficiency to help mitigate climate change, as well as being more cost effective to counter the impact of soaring fuel prices.”

The demolition phase of the project is now complete and you can find a time lapse video of the demolition here. A building contractor for Assheton Court is expected to be appointed in the summer.