First Code Level 5 Social Housing in UK completed
15 April 2008The first habitable code level 5 social housing development in the UK, the Mid Street development in South Nutfield, Surrey, has been completed and will be officially launched on 18 April. The homes, which achieve a 100% reduction of carbon emissions over Building Regulation standards, have been built by Osborne on behalf of Raven Housing Trust.
The completion of the £305,000 scheme will be marked with an opening ceremony attended by Peter Ainsworth MP for East Surrey and Shadow Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary.
The properties’ environmental performance and energy usage will be monitored by the Energy Saving Trust over the next two years, with results and readings available throughout.
Both Osborne and Raven Housing Trust have contributed additional funding to make the Mid Street homes a reality. The Housing Corporation will be providing £157,000 in social housing grant. Other funders involved include Tandridge District Council, BERR (former DTI) Low Carbon Building Programme Phase 2 and the Energy Saving Trust who provided technical support towards making these homes a reality.
To achieve Level 5 of the Code for Sustainable Homes , the properties have been erected using Innovare’s Structural Insulated Panel System which contribute to a reduction in energy consumption in terms of U-Value, air tightness and increased thermal performance. Air leakage sealing is used to ensure heat is retained and the properties will run on renewable energy sourced from photo-voltaic panels. Triple glazed windows and low energy lighting has also been fitted and all the sanitary ware is water saving. The homes boast further sustainable features such as biomass (wood pellet) boilers, rain water harvesting and heat recovery ventilation systems.
Andrew Osborne, Corporate Development Director at Osborne comments:
“We are proud to have made these homes a reality on behalf of Raven Housing Trust. The Osborne Demonstration House at the BRE Innovation Park in Watford formed the basic prototype for the Mid Street homes and Osborne also provided £10,000 from our own Carbon Offset Fund to support the innovation required. We have put theory into practice and taken sustainable innovation in social housing beyond the realm of just concept.”
Nicholas Harris, Chief Executive of Raven Housing Trust comments:
“Raven Housing Trust believes in delivering innovative developments that benefit our residents, the environment and creating sustainable homes for the future. The new technologies within these homes will provide our residents with lower bills for electricity, water and space heating and also lower water bills.”
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