UK's biggest zero-carbon development is approved
Wednesday, 9 February 2011 2:10 PM
Peterborough City Council has given the go-ahead to what will be the UK's largest zero-carbon property development.
Planning permission for 295 new homes was granted to Morris Homes as part of the government's Carbon Challenge programme in which developers submit designs showcasing different ways the zero-carbon Code Level 6 target can be achieved.
Working with specialist sustainable architecture firm Browne Smith Baker and landscape architects Barnes Walker, Morris Homes will build 63 two-bedroom, 90 three-bedroom and 68 four-bedroom houses and 74 two-bedroom flats on a 17-acre former factory site. The land is on London Road in Fletton, close to Peterborough United's football ground.
Eco-friendly features include a sustainable urban drainage system and a grass roof on the seven-storey apartment block. Biodiversity will be encouraged through the 'gabion' wall, which is intended to form a habitat for wildlife and comprises wire cages filled with crushed recycled material, sustainable rock and climbing plants.
Terry Fuller, east and south-east executive director of the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) which manages the Carbon Challenge programme, said that the properties would be "appealing, attractive and point the way to how we could all live in the future".
No completion date has been given and the properties haven't been released yet, meaning prices have not been announced.
However, Morris Homes has confirmed that 40 per cent of the homes - 72 houses and 48 apartments - will be available as social housing or through a shared-ownership scheme.
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