An eco-friendly neighbourhood of 35 homes for the rented sector has become the single most prolific award winner in the Gale and Snowden portfolio. Oak Meadow at South Molton, Devon which was designed to become a template for wider application elsewhere. It has been recognised as the best sustainable housing of its kind in the country and was awarded for the best social housing project in the country 2005 – a view shared by residents. Light and airy modern design is linked to sustainability features such as careful orientation to harness solar gain, local sourcing of materials, outstanding levels of insulation, air tightness, high performance triple glazing, high levels of thermal mass, energy efficiency, and external landscape design to high ecological standards. There are also cool larders that use the cool temperature of the earth to form pantries to keep food fresh and reduce the need for large fridges. These buildings have been designed to not need space heating unless the temperature outside drops to below -3 degrees C, the occupants and their appliances heating the buildings. The building designs have been based on the Gale & Snowden philosopy of taking the best from both modern and traditonal design to reduce the need for energy and water. The buildings have also been designed to be healthy both for the occupants and the environment. In addition, the low running costs show how economic ‘green’ developments can be.