Passivhaus-accredited council homes have been completed at three sites across Cambridge.
A launch of 21 homes across schemes in Fen Road, Borrowdale, and Ditton Fields, was held by Cambridge Investment Partnership (CIP) and marked by the planting of a tree by guests from Homes England, councillors, and members of the CIP team at Fen Road.
CIP, a partnership between Cambridge City Council and housebuilder The Hill Group, delivered the properties with funding agreements with Homes England. They are aimed at people with low to middle incomes.
Cllr Gerri Bird, executive councillor for housing and homelessness for Cambridge City Council and CIP board member, said, “The completion of these three developments is a significant milestone in our journey as a partnership.
“With the ongoing pressures on the cost of living and the need to provide new high-quality, sustainable housing across the city, these Passivhaus pilot developments are creating new homes for residents that cut energy bills, improve health and wellbeing, tackle fuel poverty, and are great places to live.
“I am also delighted that two of the homes at Fen Road are wheelchair-adapted for families, with lifts already included, which is important as we drive forward the need to provide more fully adapted homes for disabled people.”
CIP worked with architects Pollard Thomas Edwards, The Environment Partnership, and Carter Jonas to bring forward the developments.
Tom Hill, managing director at The Hill Group, said, “A significant focus of our development programme is to reduce our impact on climate change by providing high-quality low-carbon homes for residents.
“These pilot Passivhaus council homes have enabled us to explore how we can deliver many of the Passivhaus principles across our larger-scale developments going forward.
I am really proud of what we have achieved, and we now look forward to using our great work here to influence our ongoing design philosophy for future developments.”
The Passivhaus design includes air-source heat pumps, enhanced insulation, solar panels and triple-glazed and air quality systems.
The Fen Road scheme has 12 properties; eight with two bedrooms, two with three and two wheelchair accessible homes.
Ditton Fields comprises six homes four with three bedrooms and two, two-bedroom terraced houses.
At Borrowdale, some garages and car parking have been replaced with three two-bedroom terraced council homes.
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