1,800 Newcastle homes in welcome hot water

Published by Brian Church for 24dash.com in Housing and also in Sustainability

A new community of 1,800 homes will enjoy lower carbon heating and efficient hot water in the Scotswood area of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, with the project involving energy company E.ON and the New Tyne West Development Company.

NTWDC development director Duncan Bowman said: “An energy centre serving a site of this scale will be the first of its kind in the north, demonstrating the ambition and environmental responsibility being applied to this project.”

The new-build community will be supplied with a more energy efficient energy supply through a district heating network based on combined heat and power (CHP) technology which generates a source of heat and hot water at the same time as producing electricity.

Of the 1,800 sustainable homes, up to 25% will be affordable homes for rent and shared ownership, owned and managed by Tees Valley Housing – part of the Fabrick Group.

The energy centre and pipeline network provides a constant supply of heat and hot water to homes, meaning there is no need for individual gas boilers. This will reduce carbon emissions by up to 35 per cent and deliver significant energy cost savings for residents.

Jeremy Bungey, head of community energy at E.ON, said: “The beauty of district heating schemes like this is that it builds energy efficiency into the very foundations of new homes, making Scotswood a prime example of an energy efficient community.”

Construction of the energy centre, on the site of the old abattoir on Whitehouse Road, is expected to begin in the spring. Once commissioned it will be capable of providing hot water and heating to all 1,800 homes on the 66 hectare site. In addition it will ensure all houses reach level 4 of the Government’s Code for Sustainable Homes.

The first phase of the development will be powered by boilers with the longer term aim to transform the centre into combined heat and power plant once around 600 homes are completed, meaning at that stage Scotswood will have its own neighbourhood electricity generating plant.

NTWDC is a public/private joint venture partnership comprising Newcastle City Council and developers Barratt, Keepmoat and Yuill. Over the next 15 years it plans to invest £265 million in a site bordered by Armstrong Road to the north, Whitehouse Road to the south, Atkinson Road to the east and Roberts Street/Muswell Hill to the west.