ECO THIS IMAGE: British Gas is
Bellway’s chosen energy provider at So Stepney in East London
BELOW LEFT: A2 Dominion Project director Steve Hornblow
BELOW RIGHT: Sustainability consultant Nicole Lazarus
it for the long term as we’ll own 30% of the homes forever. SSE will maintain the system and customer service is very important to us.”
so far from local prospective buyers has been impressive, but adds that it’s not just the low- cost energy incentives which attract them: “Buyers are interested too in the community side. They like the idea that this scheme will have an inbuilt community where neighbours can meet in the street and get to know each other and where children can play. It’s almost like going back to old values.” Like many developers, Hornblow finds that buyers increasingly demand schemes with low cost heating and that advertising the fact is crucial to successful marketing: “The show
complex has a demo house where they can see the technology, which includes the district heating system so they can see how it works and the savings they can achieve.” The demo house also contains a
tablet allowing potential buyers to see how much energy they can generate. Bicester’s partnership with energy provider SSE is ‘at final negotiation’ and Hornblow says choosing a large, established energy provider was crucial to their decision: “Green energy isn’t always cheap, but, as we’re a housing association, we’re not in this to make a fast profit and move onto the next scheme. We’re in
Hornblow has experienced poor working relationships with utility companies and, to ensure that past mistakes are not repeated, has engaged specialist energy company Vital Energy: “They have designed and built to our exact design and specification. Again this is a long term investment.” Working with A2Dominion and planning authority Cherwell District Council, sustainability consultant Nicole Lazarus says that using a local network operator such as SSE made the process easier, but warns that projects such as this have high capital costs upfront. Lazarus sees great advantages
in today’s district heating systems that, historically, were inflexible: “Today’s systems are highly responsive. Residents pay for exactly how much they use and there’s no gas boiler to service.”
Another innovative scheme is being developed at Riverside Quarter in Wandsworth, London by Frasers Property. One of the UK’s largest open loop ground source systems has been
installed which minimises the impact of the development on the local environment and cuts carbon emissions. The system, which provides
heating and cooling to residential and commercial properties, is estimated to reduce carbon emissions and the production of greenhouse gasses by nearly 10% compared to traditional energy sources and has been designed to provide 100% of the cooling and over half the heating requirements for six of the development’s buildings. Developed and designed by MEP consultants Hoare Lea, Riverside Quarter’s significant renewable energy contribution has been implemented in accordance with GLA planning policy, making it one of the few London- accredited schemes. With 43% of all carbon emissions coming from buildings, the role of developers in achieving a sustainable future for the UK is key, says Dr Stanley Quek, chief executive of Frasers Property: “Creating a development that is as magnificent as it is sustainable and kind to the environment has been a long-held vision of mine, and it’s fantastic to see that this dream has been realised.”
sh showhouse May 2013 | 63
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