East Midlands folk have their say

East Midlands, [26 April 06] East Midlands new homes developer Fairgrove Homes has taken another step towards ensuring its property designs remain relevant for the 21st century.

The company’s first Focus Group meeting, held in Mansfield, was attended by a cross-section of local stakeholders including public and private sector workers. “During the evening, we discussed three-storey versus two-storey living, showed the group examples of three-storey and two-storey homes developed by Fairgrove, examined the merits and problems of open plan living and discussed environmental issues connected with home building,” explains Steve Midgley, managing director of Fairgrove Homes.

“Initially, many of our delegates said they thought three-storey living was a way of getting a lot of space without losing a garden while keeping costs down,” says Steve. “Following a lively discussion on how a three-storey house can best be used, we showed our delegates the Barrisdale and Earlswood designs, which have been popular in Fairgrove developments throughout the region. The double-fronted, two-storey Barrisdale design was well received, with comments including how important it was for the house to face the right way in order to make full use of a conservatory. The importance of kitchens to new homeowners was also discussed, with many people having strong views about the size and location of their kitchen.

“Everyone remarked on the size of the three-storey Earlswood design, with the general view being you get a lot of property for your money – and a high quality finish to each room.

“We were interested to discover the group’s views on two and three-storey living because the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has been pushing developers to provide more three-storey homes, while anecdotal evidence has suggested that they are not always as popular as more traditional two-storey designs. Although members of our focus group had some concerns that three-storey homes may put parents and children’s bedrooms on separate floors of the house, we were pleased to discover that they were very positive about the Barrisdale home design.”

When the discussion moved to open plan designs, the group was generally in favour of this style of living. “On the whole, people found open plan homes more versatile and sociable,” says Steve. “The general feeling was that if you have a structured home with a set dining room, you often end up with a room that is rarely used. Open plan living seems to address this problem.”

Discussion throughout the evening was lively, with a variety of opinions being expressed, but when Fairgrove posed the question “Would you pay more for the house if we used ‘green technology?” there was a unanimous “No”. “It seems that although consumers are becoming increasingly environmentally aware, if it hits their pockets, they are less willing to take a green route,” says Steve.

“The evening was very informative, giving us an insight into what consumers want and how we can best develop new homes to meet their needs and budgets,” comments Steve. “We’re now looking forward to our next meeting, which will be held at another Fairgrove development later this year. Anyone interested in joining the next discussion can contact me on 0115 944 6700 or email focus@fairgrove.co.uk

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