Rochdale to represent UK in European Environment Awards

The Regenda Groups development on Halifax Road, Hamer in Rochdale, is on track to represent the UK in the European Business Awards for the Environment at the House of Commons in November.

The Regenda Group has just been notified that it is among the major winners in the Green Apple Awards, one of the few accredited feeder schemes into the international campaign.

The Regenda Group, one of the leading Housing Associations in the North West, identified the derelict site as an opportunity for a new build housing project.

The scheme of 7 three-storey homes were designed with the requirements of the local Asian population in mind, providing accommodation for six to eight people in each property with separate male and female lounges on the ground floor and first floor levels, two separate bathrooms, a front private area and rear gardens with curtilage car parking.

An essential part of the project was to improve the neglected wasteland to the rear of the site which was overlooked by some twenty existing properties and to transform it into a communal area with a new shared road, footpaths, a landscaped area, improved street lighting and designated parking spaces for existing and new residents, making the area safer and more attractive for the local community.

The development will be presented with the Green Apple Award at the House of Commons in November, when top winners have the chance to represent their country in the Brussels event. The development will also be invited to join the National Green Heroes, an elite group of environmental achievers who use their experience to help thousands of others and the environment around the world.

These plaques are presented on board The Royal Yacht Britannia.

Bill Taylor, Executive Director at The Regenda Group, said: "We are thrilled to be taking this innovative scheme in Rochdale to the European Green Apple Awards. It is an achievement to be recognised for the use of environmentally friendly design elements. Modern methods of construction were used in the development of the site, and the homes benefit from a range of energy and water saving measures.

"The development has set a standard for regeneration in the area and we hope it will become a benchmark for future developments in Rochdale."

Alastair Graham, Director of Oldham Rochdale HMR Pathfinder , said: "We are delighted that Halifax Road homes are receiving this continued recognition.The Pathfinder advised on their design, which illustrates the high standards of quality and sustainability that will be a feature of all the new build we are creating across Rochdale and Oldham."

Frank Olchoski, Director at Denovo Design Architects, said: "Despite the scheme having to comply with inevitable cost constraints, the team from West Pennine Housing Association, Wilkinson Cowan Partnership and Richardson Projects Ltd, stayed faithful to the basic environmental specification for the project, and this further accolade is recognition of their efforts."

The Green Apple Awards are now in their fifteenth year and attracted more than 500 nominations this year.