Gloucester Civic Award for Two Rivers' ECO-friendly apartments

Published by Jenny George for Two Rivers Housing in Environment and also in Communities, Housing, Local Government

A £1.6M eco-friendly development situated at the heart of Gloucester city centre, has scooped Gloucester’s Civic Award for Best Climate Friendly Scheme. 

Boosting sustainable housing in the region, the development comprising 14 innovative eco-apartments marks the investment from Two Rivers Housing, the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and the Low Carbon Building Programme.  This includes a £650,000 HCA grant,   support from Gloucestershire City Council of £34,743 and combined funding from Low Carbon Building Program Grant and Two Rivers Housing of £938,310.

Designed to combine contemporary urban design with environmental sustainability and eco-friendly living, the apartments benefit from a state of the art ground source heat pump system, which provides the building with solar heating and hot water reducing energy use and running costs.  The construction process ensured that 80% of materials were sourced locally, and demolition and construction waste material was recycled or reused whenever feasible. 

As part of Two Rivers’ ongoing ecological support to prospective tenants, the use of energy star rated appliances are recommended. A programme is in place for the recycling of non-biological waste including tins, bottles and paper.

Council Leader, Paul James recently took a tour of the new development, to meet tenants, view the green homes and was given an impromptu training session with Ice Energy responsible for the innovative energy saving technology.

Cllr Paul James, Leader of Gloucester City Council said:

‘I was delighted to visit the new development, which is evidence on a small scale of Gloucester's continuing regeneration. I am always pleased to see schemes which go the extra mile in terms of design quality and environmental standards - something which tenants appreciate too.’

Garry King, Chief Executive of Two Rivers Housing said:

‘This development is the first in Gloucester City to incorporate a unique and innovative heating system, which ultimately lowers heating bills for our tenants. Our continued research into ‘green’ technologies has come to fruition in this development, demonstrating how advances in construction and technology ultimately benefit whole communities.

We’re delighted that the Civic Trust has recognised our development as worthy of this award.”

Greg Morgan, Area Manager, Homes and Communities Agency said:

“The HCA takes pride in being able to invest in projects that demonstrate the incorporation of new and sustainable technologies. The innovations used to construct and maintain the development at Park End Road is a perfect example of how paying attention to environmental considerations at the start of a project can be a real benefit to tenants for years to come.”

Jason Wasley managing director of Aqua Construction said:

“This development gave Aqua an opportunity to excel in the renewable energy field by investing in sustainable technology and design.  Our construction team are very proud of the Civic Trust award and we will continue to push the boundaries in construction technology.”