Landlord claims UK first with 'carbon negative social housing street'

Published by 24publishing for 24dash.com in Housing and also in Environment

A housing association in the North East has unveiled what it believes to be the UK's first carbon negative social housing street.

Four Housing Group's Sinclair Meadows - a new development of 21 houses and apartments in South Tyneside - was built to surpass the Government’s definition of zero carbon and to exceed the minimum requirement for Level 6 of the Code for Sustainable Homes.

The project - which uses a combination of natural materials like timber, hemp insulation and lime render and renewable energy like photovoltaic panels - is 20 per cent beyond the current zero carbon definition, and will be more than 60 per cent beyond the 2013 definition, the landlord says.

The project has been focused on the quality of the building fabric, especially on air tightness and heat loss and thus does not require any external offsetting to achieve carbon negativity – the first time this has been achieved for social housing in the UK, says the housing association.

Dawn Keightley, director of operations at Four Housing Group, said: “Sinclair Meadows is unique because it is the first purpose built and designed carbon negative housing scheme on this scale that, within three years of being built, has the ability to remove its own carbon footprint created during construction. Once the development has reached the end of its useful life, the majority of the materials will be reusable, recyclable and biodegradable."

Other features include a communal biomass boiler for heating and hot water, a rainwater harvesting system for toilets and gardening facilities and south-facing main habitable rooms to maximise natural heat.

Tenants will be "extensively trained" in how to be energy efficient in their new homes, said the housing association, and the development will also generate returns through the Government's Feed-in Tariff and Renewable Heat Incentive.