Lincolnshire-based developer Larkfleet has applied for planning permission for a new prototype house that could eliminate flood damage to homes.
The new experimental house rises on jacks above flood waters and Larkfleet is aiming to provide a model that could enable house building on thousands of unused sites across the UK, which at present cannot be developed because of the risk of flooding.
South Holland District Council in Lincolnshire will consider plans to build the three-bedroom detached house that can be raised up to 1.5 metres above ground level by eight mechanical jacks.
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Work on constructing the house, which will sit on a steel ring beam in place of conventional foundations, could begin early in 2017.
The house can be jacked up 1.5 metres in five minutes
Experiments with raising and lowering the house, including testing long-term maintenance and operation of the jacking system, will run for up to five years.
The mechanical jacking system could lift the 65-tonne house to the full 1.5 metre height above ground in less than five minutes.
The house will be a modular steel-frame design, allowing it to be disassembled and re-erected on another site on conventional foundations as a family residence.
Rooftop solar panels and a battery would provide the house with some continuing electricity supply when raised above the ground and the water and sewage would remain connected through flexible hoses.
It is not envisaged that residents would remain in occupation during floods.
Instead, the householders would pack up, lock up and jack up the home before taking refuge in temporary accommodation on higher ground elsewhere.
Karl Hick, chief executive of The Larkfleet Group of Companies, said: “The elevating house effectively eliminates the risk of flood damage to homes so that more land across the country can be approved for future home building.
“This will help to tackle the housing crisis that is being caused by the demand for new housing far exceeding the supply.”
