Largest Code Level 4 housing development in the UK moves forward

In these dire times for the UK house-building industry, getting a developer to commit to a 1000-home development that meets some of the highest eco build standards around may seem like a tall order. But that appears to be what has been achieved with the Pan Regeneration Project on the Isle of Wight. One of the most deprived estates on the island is to become the site for the largest ‘Code Level 4 for Sustainable Homes ’ development in the UK.

The site’s landowner, the Isle of Wight Council, formerly approved a deal that will see the large-scale development of  homes – including a substantial number of affordable ones – that promise to be at least 44 per cent more energy efficient than the current requirement for new homes. The partnership project includes island housing association Spectrum Housing Group and Miller Homes, one of the largest privately-owned house-builders in the UK.

Miller Homes has a good deal of practice of working on public/private partnership projects. Its parent, Miller Group, is currently involved in major house-building and mixed-use developments up and down the country, including The Allerton Bywater Village in Leeds, and in Scotland, the South East Wedge in Edinburgh, a massive mixed-use development that will see 4000 homes and flats built over 15 years.

According to Sarah Mitchell, director of Community Services at the Isle of Wight Council, Miller Homes was chosen for the Pan development “because of the quality of its work”.

“The Council is very keen to push the boundaries for Code Level 4 because it’s good for the community – less fuel and water usage saves money – and because we have a sense of responsibility about building sustainable homes for the future,” she says.

Code Level 4 is likely to become a mandatory requirement for publicly funded housing in England from 2012, but in a credit crunch and for a project of this scale, to adopt it now, offers significant challenges.

The Pan Regeneration Project is a 10-to-12-year development. Situated on the east side of Newport next to the existing Pan Estate, the 52-acre site will deliver one, two, three and four bedrooms flats and houses that will need to add insulation, increase air tightness, improve heating systems, reduce thermal bridging and add renewables, such as solar panels, ground source heat or biomass, to meet the Code Level 4 For Sustainable Homes – the latest assessment for new houses in the UK.

Miller Homes is an experienced partner to have on board for this ambitious eco build. It has already been involved in a large-scale eco- friendly development at Upton Green on the outskirts of Northampton. There it has built 123 of the 1000-home development, designed to achieve the highest score in the BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method).

Some of the houses at Upton Green incorporate solar technology, heating 70 per cent of the hot water requirement for a typical four-bedroom family home. Every house has its own rainwater harvesting system, the latest condensing boilers and thermal insulation exceeding building regulation requirements by 50 per cent.

More recently, Miller has gone a step further building five demonstration homes meeting Levels 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the Code for Sustainable Homes at its Merton Rise development in Basingstoke. The project, called Miller Zero, was launched in December 2007 and has now reached build stage. But the team behind acknowledge that the biggest challenge of the project is ensuring it can be replicated on a large scale.

“The biggest question that still needs answering is about the mass production  – what energy systems do we use for the mass market which can fit comfortably into every new build domestic property in the country remains unresolved from our perspective at present,” says Adrian Corser, production director at Miller Homes Southern.
“For example, if we needed 250,000 biomass boilers to heat these homes, where is all the wood chip going to come from to run them all?”

Those involved in the Pan development, including Miller Homes, will hope they have the answers to these questions soon to ensure the objectives of the country’s largest Code Level 4 eco development can be met.

Related News:
Eco-Building and Sustainable Homes
Energy Efficiency News