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"Welcome to Forgebank. Lancaster's first and only co-housing Development situated in a beautiful rural setting alongside the River Lune. Interested in co-housing? Are you energy conscious? Would you like to be part of an unique community. Please read on.

LIVING IN HALTON AT FORGEBANK Forgebank is an innovative cohousing development situated along the River bank in Halton. The site covers 6 acres and is in a beautiful rural wooded setting. The homes and common house have been designed and situated along the riverside giving many homes an attractive and open view.
The development comprises 41 flats and homes, various communal buildings and an existing mill building which will provide managed workshop and office space to local businesses. The mill space will be available to residents at a reduced rental rate.
Lancaster is only 3 miles away and can be reached either by regular buses, a flat car free cycle path or by a short car drive. Junction 34 of the M6 is only 1 mile away. WHAT IS COHOUSING? Cohousing is a type of collaborative housing in which residents actively participate in the design and operation of their own neighbourhood.
The idea of cohousing originated in Denmark, where it is believed today over 50,000 people live in these unique communities. The concept has now spread worldwide.
People who live in cohousing embrace the lifestyle these unique homes offer. The residents are all committed to living in a community where people may have their own unique backgrounds, jobs and lives but all share the same common values.
The design of the development is well researched; the properties all allow private individual space but area also designed to enhance social interaction.
Forgebank is built along a pedestrian street and incorporates 41 homes - a mixture of houses and apartments. Central to the development, over the looking the river is the main common house. This is the social hub of the community and features a large kitchen, large open sitting and dining area and also a spacious glass covered outdoor terrace, ideal to while away a lovely Sunday afternoon. Most evenings, shared meals are served. Residents can attend as often or as little as they like.
Cohousing schemes also have many other shared facilities and open spaces designed for full social interacting. Forgebank features a guest suite for visiting friends and family. There is a large bike store, a communal tool store, a children's play area and even further facilities such as a food store, laundry room etc.
The use and joint ownership of common open spaces encourages both a sense of pride and care. Decisions are made openly and fairly as part of a group, whilst responsibilities are shared. THE APARTMENT Apartment 8 at Forgebank Walk is a superb first floor apartment with its own private entrance and views looking out towards the River. The
apartment is one bedroom and has been designed to be open plan.
The apartment enters into an airy open plan living space. Solid pine flooring flows through. The kitchen is located to the rear and is fitted with a stylish range of units in white complemented by a natural oiled 40mm thick beech work-surface. The oven and hob are both integral.
The living area offers the space to both relax and dine. It is light and airy due to the dual aspect windows. French doors open out to the spacious balcony.
From the living area a pine stair case leads up to the sleeping area which has a balcony looking down over the lounge.
The bathroom is fitted in white and features a 3 piece suite. There is a shower attachment over the bath. THE SPECIFICATION Forgebank homes are built to the PassivHaus standard www.passivhaus.org.uk which dramatically reduces the need for space heating and can reduce heating bills by 90% compared with conventional homes. PassivHaus design achieves this through: South facing aspect and very high levels of insulation, airtightness, mechanical ventilation and heat recovery (MVHR).
The large triple glazed south facing windows and doors windows capture heat from the sun, which is then retained by very high levels of insulation and minimal air loss through drafts. The result is negligible heat loss during winter and a very consistent internal temperature. The MVHR unit continuously replaces the air in the building with fresh air from outside and uses a heat recovery system to warm the incoming air. The result is that PassivHaus homes have excellent air quality and need very little additional heating. For times when the outside temperature is very low, there is a single radiator and heated towel rail fed from the district heating system.
Heating and hot water to Heron Bank homes is provided by the Lancaster Cohousing's district heating system which generates hot water from a highly efficient wood chip boiler in the mill building supplemented by over 50m2 of solar thermal collectors is delivered through insulated pipes to each property.
Forgebank will be connected to the Lancaster Cohousing's local electricity micro grid which sources some electricity from a large array of photovoltaic solar panels. If the Halton community hydro-electric scheme obtains the necessary approvals, it will also feed electricity into the micro grid."