Raven Housing Trust short listed for five national sustainable housing awards

Redhill-based Raven Housing Trust has been short-listed for five major national sustainable housing awards for its pioneering environmental work.

At the 2008 Sustainable Housing Awards, organised by Inside Housing, the UKs leading housing magazine, Raven is short-listed in four categories: Sustainable social housing landlord of the year; Low energy social housing project of the year category; Sustainable smaller social housing project of the year (less than 25 homes) and Water conservation award.

Building magazine has also short-listed Raven and its contractor Osborne for Sustainable Building of the Year for two new houses built in Mid Street, South Nutfield. The winners for all five awards will be announced in November at separate ceremonies at the London Hilton Hotel.

Three of the short-listed awards are for Ravens construction of the UKs greenest homes. In April 2008, Raven completed building two new flats in Mid Street, South Nutfield, Surrey which are the UKs first homes for social rent to have met Level 5 of the Code of Sustainable Homes. Built on land provided by Tandridge District Council, the two 2-bedroom flats look like traditional homes from the outside, but have been built using the latest building techniques and materials with a wide range of features enabling tenants to live in an environmentally sustainable way.

Frank Talbert-Stone, who has just moved into one of the new Mid Street flats, commented:Living in an environmentally friendly home certainly makes you think more carefully when you shop, use water or electricity.

The water conservation short-listed entry is for the Preston Water Efficiency Initiative - the UKs biggest large scale retrofitting water conservation project involving 500 Raven-owned homes on the Preston estate in Tadworth, Surrey. The initiative involved fitting water efficient appliances in existing homes alongside a rainwater harvesting project and an education programme.

I am delighted that Ravens cutting edge environmental work is acknowledged by being shortlisted for five major awards. To be a finalist in these national prestigious housing awards is testimony to the excellence of the Mid Street homes, the water conservation project in Tadworth and Ravens other environmental projects and plans . These initiatives will make a real difference and benefit both the environment and the local community, said Raven Chief Executive Nicholas Harris.