Industry News


reveal that levels of customer sat- isfaction have once again risen and now match or exceed those in any other industry or sector. The results of the survey, supported and analysed by the National House Building Council, reveal that: • Nine out of ten buyers are very or fairly satisfied with the overall quality of their new home


T


• Nine out of ten buyers would recommend their builder to a friend. These independently verified res-ults come in the midst of a dif-


Consumers hand out top marks to house building industry ficult environment


he results of HBF’s (Home Builders Federation) seventh customer satisfaction survey


for house-


builders, with an uncertain plan- ning system, restricted mortgage availability and a huge burden of regulation threatening to stifle innovation and continuing design improvement. Despite these challenges, the


results are a testament to the industry’s commitment to deliver the high quality product and service that today’s demanding home buyers rightly expect. Stewart Baseley, executive chair-


man at HBF, said: “For the first time nine out of ten consumers – the most important people in the process – have said that they’re happy with the quality of their new


home and would recommend their builder to friends. The results are a testament to the efforts made by our industry to deliver products and services that consumers are happy with, despite the difficult business environment. “It is essential to achieve these


high satisfaction levels when pro- viding a product that represents for most people their largest invest- ment both financially and emotion- ally. But creating a great home is not straightforward. Each home built is different and presents a dif- ferent challenge. It takes commit- ment and dedication from the CEO’s office to the construction site,


involving everyone from Gentoo launch revolutionary green homes O


n Friday March 2, Gentoo offi- cially launched their most innovative housing develop-


ment to date. David Orr, chief exe- cutive of the National Housing Federation, made a special visit to the North East to show his support and officially mark the occasion. Gentoo has built 28 revolutionary


low energy bungalows utilising the highly energy efficient, German ‘PassivHaus’ standard. Located in Houghton-le-Spring, this develop- ment is believed to be the first PassivHaus scheme of this scale in the UK to achieve formal PassivHaus accreditation from the Building Research Establishment (BRE). The homes rely on solar gain, air


tightness and super high standards of insulation. The building fabric sig- nificantly reduces energy consump- tion (by 75 per cent compared to building regulations) and helps reduce carbon emissions by around 80 per cent. Passive heat is mainly gained from sunshine through the windows, but is also generated from people and appliances in the home. The heat is then recovered and re- circulated using a mechanical vent- ilation and heat recovery (MVHR) system. Peter Walls, chief executive of


Gentoo said: “Gentoo is proud to be known for pushing the boundaries of housing design and when our research into carbon reduction led us to the PassivHaus concept, we knew we needed to bring it to the region. The build quality was unique and a challenge for everyone involved – however, the power of collective working has helped us to


champion this innovative and unique project. With housing accounting for around 27 per cent of the UK’s total carbon emissions and the continuing rise in the cost of domestic energy bills in the UK, it is hoped that our approach will assist in the fight against fuel poverty and help set a precedent for reaching the govern- ment’s overall carbon reduct-ion targets by 2050.” Through high levels of air tight-


ness (air leakage less than 0.6 times house volume per hour) and insula- tion (external envelope U-value of not more than 0.15W/m2K) together with low energy demand (less than 15kWh/m2/year for space heating) these homes are estimated to have an annual energy bill for heating and hot water of only £68. Along with the financial savings,


customers living in these homes will feel a myriad of benefits including an excellent environment in terms of air quality, noise and thermal comfort. Gentoo is working with their cus- tomers to ensure they are well informed as to how cultural and behavioural change can maximise the environmental, well-being and financial benefits of their PassivHaus home. Anne Mulroy, head of area at the


Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) said: “It is fantastic that our investment of £200,000 has helped Gentoo build such amazing homes. It shows what can be achieved for


local people.” Harry Trueman, deputy leader,


Sunderland City Council added: “Elderly people are often the most affected by extremes of weather and


directors to tradesmen to custo- mer facing staff. These superb results are a credit to our industry and all its employees.” Isabel Hudson, executive chair-


man of NHBC, which supports the survey and analyses the data for HBF, said: “The survey reinforces the findings. of recent research by the NHBC


Foundation, which highlights that occupiers have very positive views about new homes, compared to those consumers living in older stock. This is something the new homes industry should be proud of and perhaps these results will help to communicate the many benefits of new homes to the wider public.”


can struggle with rising energy prices. Living in state-of-the-art homes like these, which will stay warm in winter and cost much less to heat, will be extremely beneficial for all the residents who are lucky enough to live in one.” PassivHaus Planning Package


(PHPP) software modelling has been cross referenced with the gove- rnment’s Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH) ensuring this scheme comfortably achieves CSH Level 4 without the use of renewable


technologies. Ratings well in excess of Code Level 4 energy require- ments have been achieved on 18 of the homes with the use of solar thermal panels. Furthermore, five of the homes achieve Code Level 5 with the use of photovoltaic (PV) panels in addition to solar thermal. It is hoped that the scale and


nature of this development will set a precedent for the design and con- struction of sustainable, low carbon homes through-out the UK.


City Building appointed to £40 million framework contract


Home Scotland has appointed Glasgow-based City Building to the £40 million framework agreement to build new houses and flats for current and future tenants over the next four years. The framework agreement means


that City Building is one of only a handful of preferred contractors


able to bid for work from Home Scotland – part of Home Group, which is one of the UK’s largest providers of social housing. City Building has been appoint-


ed to the framework due to its experience of new build and refur- bishment projects, with Home Scotland particularly impressed by


the committed approach to quality, social ethos and innovation out- lined in the City Building bid. John Foley, City Building manag-


ing director, said: “We are delight- ed to be a part of this huge project, which will contribute significantly towards the provision of new homes in Scotland.


“Our knowledge and experience


of constructing new build housing and our extensive in-house man- agement, technical and trades resources have helped us to deliver some market leading sus- tainable developments across Scotland so far.


www.buildingconstructiondesign.eu 7


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