Thanks to the lockdowns, people have been appreciating outdoor space like never before and properties offering it are bound to be in higher demand in future. Will this desire to access the great outdoors be part of the post-pandemic normal and, if so, how can housebuilders meet the need in urban and high-density developments? The answer might be right over their heads.
One thing the lockdowns – and, more recently, some better weather – have taught us all is the value of outdoor space. Those lucky enough to have gardens haven’t been able get enough of them, while those without, in flats or small back-to-backs, flocked to parks and beaches – often to the frustration of the authorities.
Lockdown gloom
The lockdowns have been trying enough even if not hard impacted by ill-health or the loss of loved ones or income. And, until this most recent, it had been beyond imagination to envisage what they would have been like in the bitter cold with dark skies, howling gales and freezing rain. Now we know: bloody miserable.
So, thank goodness, at least, for the promise of future sunshine and the great outdoors. The contribution to the physical and mental wellbeing of the nation last spring and summer was immeasurable, and we look forward to the benefits to come this post-pandemic spring and summer too.
Yet will this enhanced appreciation stick? Pundits galore have been speculating about the ‘new normal’ and one wonders if public taste in housing will now insist upon decent, useable outdoor space.
Urban flight
Anecdotally, there are plenty of reports of a rush of people, especially those with small children, in the Yuppier bits of Clapham and Brixton, Hoxton and Hackney to the estate agents. Where once they were smugly pleased with their bijou terraces (with tiny yards) or cool loft flats, lockdown has sent them stampeding for the lush prairies of Epping and Epsom in search of space.
From the housebuilder’s perspective, will then the inclusion of some outdoor space represent a premium opportunity – or the absence of same adversely affect the marketability of property? Will a Juliet balcony be an adequate substitute for a full-sized one that will accommodate a bit of greenery, a bistro table and chair set and even stretch (no pun intended) to a yoga mat?
To some, modern developments can be a by-word for the mean allocation of gardens in return for increased density, yet it will certainly be the case now that plots with more generous helpings of grass will not only sell better, but also sell for more.
Certainly, we can be confident that, post-Covid, there will be urban flight and the better suburbs and commutable provinces will benefit from increased demand and command higher prices.
Green roofs
But in the case of flats, and flat roofed buildings, are developers missing a trick when it comes to maximising the space available to them, especially if that space will now add value in terms of sustainability, well-being and biodiversity, as well as monetarily?
The answer is right over their heads.
Green roofs offer a host of ‘eco services’: mitigating stormwater, increasing biodiversity, cooling buildings and their surroundings, improving water and air quality. There is also a body of evidence that shows they contribute positively to wellbeing, by offering views of nature or by providing an amenity such as a roof garden.
Just the thing for lockdowns.
Shadowing the growth of green roofs comes a rise in blue roofs too, often with the two combined. As more planners demand sustainable drainage systems (SuDS), blue roofs offer a way to release the rainwater more slowly, avoiding the risk of over-burdening drainage systems and causing flooding.
Urban greening
In London, as in other cities around the world, planning policy is driving the trend to roofs that do more. In 2008, London’s mayor published a guide on living roofs and walls to complement its London Plan. By 2016, over 40% of the UK’s green roofs were in the capital. In 2014, Mayor Sadiq Khan upped the ante by declaring his intention to make the capital a National Park City, with green roofs part of the urban greening plan.
If there is a vulnerability to green roofs, it is their resilience to drought – when prolonged dry spells cause green assets to recede and diminish the ‘eco services’, even though they obviously recover when the weather permits.
This vulnerability is absent from blue roofs, as they incorporate water storage. Initially, the point of this was to attenuate stormwater to help limit flooding during heavy rainfall. But now, new technologies that combine water management features with passive irrigation benefits are greatly enhancing the drought resilience of green assets. These technologies can be deployed in roads, public spaces and podium decks, as well as roofs, providing superb opportunities for urban greening.
As suggested above, not only would the inclusion of blue or green roofs in a development deliver the outdoor space people now crave for their physical and mental well-being, along with ‘eco services’ such as carbon sinking, air purification, biodiversity, water management and green asset resilience; but also make such properties more attractive to purchasers, achieve higher prices and be more profitable for their builders.
Ends.