Housing partnership creates affordable zero carbon homes in £16m scheme
Remediation work off Wharton Road, in Winsford, marks the start of work on a new £16.2m development in Cheshire, delivering 138 properties, including several zero carbon homes that will help the local council reduce carbon emissions and bring down living costs for residents.
Energy, services and regeneration specialist, ENGIE is redeveloping the brownfield site in partnership with QWest Homes, Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWAC) and ForViva, providing a new sustainable development of 138 new-build homes with significant assistance from the Homes England Accelerated Construction funding programme.
In addition to the 138 two-, three- and four-bedroom homes, the scheme will also deliver improvements to local highway infrastructure and includes provision of quality open space as a community focal point.
The new homes will be energy efficient, all featuring electric vehicle charging points as standard, but customers will also have the option to upgrade their new home to net zero carbon by utilising further renewable energy systems and integrating smart home technology.
Ben Cummins, managing director of QWest Services and QWest Homes, said: “We’re delighted to assist CW&C in becoming one of the first councils in the UK to develop its own self-sufficient model to deliver quality affordable housing of its own, whilst at the same time helping the council to utilise its land assets more efficiently and offering local people greater quality, choice and affordability in the local housing market.”
Peter Hayes, head of land and partnership at ENGIE, said: “The signing of this deal is the culmination of 18 months of working collaboratively with our partners to develop this innovative new, financially efficient housing delivery model, helping QWest and the council to deliver low carbon, affordable homes.
“These new homes will be a fantastic addition to Winsford, and we’re incredibly excited to get started on site and bring our expertise to the regeneration of the area.”
He added: “As an organisation, ENGIE is proud to be working with partners across the UK on the transition to a zero-carbon future and as part of this scheme we’ll be creating low carbon homes, five of which will be specifically designed as zero carbon homes, incorporating enhanced fabric solutions, renewable energy solutions, and Smart Home Technology.”
Cllr Matt Bryan, lead member-housing, Cheshire West & Chester Council, said: “We have been working with private sector developers for a number of years now to ensure the council delivers its much-needed affordable housing in a more efficient manner.
“I am delighted we have taken this a step further with a joint venture with QWest Homes, which delivers truly sustainable mixed tenure homes which meets the diverse housing needs of our residents and meets our climate emergency obligations as outlined in our response plan.”
QWest Homes is a joint venture between Cheshire West & Chester Council and ENGIE, diversifying the activities of the already established QWest Services, which currently delivers a number of key public services in partnership with CW&C.
As part of this development, QWest Homes will also partner with Salford-based ForViva Housing Group and Homes England, the latter providing more than £4m of additional public funding through its Accelerated Construction programme, aimed at increasing the supply of quality new family homes nationally.
The project is expected to complete in February 2023.
