Plans go in for 100 affordable Passivhaus apartments in Crescent Salford scheme

English Cities Fund (ECF) has submitted plans to Salford City Council for a new scheme comprising 100 affordable, sustainable apartments.

The one- and two-bed Passivhaus apartments are part of a five- and six-storey building, on Peru Street.

The development forms part of the £2.5bn Crescent Salford regeneration, which is a collaboration between Salford City Council and Salford University.

ECF is a strategic joint venture between nationwide placemaker, Muse, Legal & General, one of the UK’s leading financial services groups and major global investor, and the Government’s housing and regeneration agency, Homes England.

The partnership was set up in 2001, to bring together the best of the public and private sector, to transform urban areas and create exceptional new places.

Passivhaus buildings are designed in their nature to provide a comfortable environment for residents, but importantly can reduce energy bills by up to 90%. This is achieved through a whole-building approach to efficiency, high quality construction, which is independently tested and verified.

Peru Street will be the second collection of sustainable, affordable apartments that ECF is bringing forward, following the success of Greenhaus – another pioneering Passivhaus certified development due to complete in March 2024 – ECF’s 96-home apartment development, which is creating affordable homes for local housing association, Salix, and is part of its £1bn, 50-acre Salford Central regeneration.

Both developments have been designed by renowned architects, Buttress.

The plans for Peru Street are designed to create cohesive, sustainable, and thriving communities, which:

• Minimise operational energy to address fuel consumption issues
• Promote sustainable transport with good transport connections within walking distance and storage for 100 bikes
• Include open plan living areas to provide sufficient space for residents to work from home
• Incorporate Juliette balconies to create a connection between the internal and outside areas
• Include four fully accessible ground floor apartments with nearby parking

Joe Stockton, development manager at ECF, said: “Creating places that work for people and the broader environment means looking at how we bring sustainable regeneration forward. With that in mind, we must consider all the ways we can create a positive impact in the places we work.

“With Peru Street we’ve built on our successes and learnings through delivering Greenhaus to create even more sustainable, affordable homes for the people of Salford.

“As a business and as a partnership, we have both a responsibility and an opportunity to create future-proofed places, neighbourhoods, and communities that respond to the climate crisis. Our work at Crescent will exceed this through a holistic approach that will benefit everyone in the long term, bring people together and connect them to some of the stunning green and blue assets Salford has to offer.”

Alison Haigh, associate at Buttress, said: “The scheme will reinforce the Passivhaus principles that are currently being trailblazed, at the nearby Greenhaus development which is due to complete in March 2024.

“Both schemes are being brought forward by ECF and will create much needed affordable homes. Meticulous detailing combined with exceptional build quality will ensure the scheme provides excellent levels of thermal comfort, improves health and wellbeing and addresses fuel poverty.”

City Mayor, Paul Dennett, said: “This application is another step forward in the partnership’s bold vision for transforming Salford Crescent and creating a new district to work, live and play.

“The inclusion of affordable housing, which also considers energy costs, is crucial to tackling the national housing shortage, the cost of living crisis and climate change and this scheme supports our ambition to create more affordable homes in Salford to help local people. I will follow the progress of this application with interest.”

Vice-chancellor at the University of Salford, Prof Helen Marshall, said: “The Peru Street development is another great example of innovative regeneration work as part of the wider Crescent Masterplan to benefit Salford, the wider region and beyond. The plans for Peru Street will develop our local environment and provide vital affordable housing for our growing communities.”

Should Peru Street receive planning consent, it is anticipated to start on site early in 2024.