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Green light for environmental project

Some of the greenest homes in the country are set to be built in the North East after planning permission was granted for a £3.6m housing project.

Sunderland-based Fitz Architects is among the firms involved in the project after it drew up the designs for 21 carbon negative homes, which are due to be built on the site of an old car park in Reed Street, South Shields.

The company which specialises in environmental housing has been working with a number of organisations including renewable energy specialists NAREC, Quantity Surveyors RNJ and Structural Engineers CK21.

Taylor Design, Ian Larnarch Associates and South Tyneside Council’s landscaping architects are also involved in the project.

Clinton Mysleyko of Fitz Architects, said: “We have spent years researching and working on the project and it is now extremely exciting that the project has been granted planning permission. This project is a massive step for housing in the region.

“Hopefully the project will be a benchmark for others and a catalyst for the region.

The project, which is being led by Four Housing Group and Groundwork, is due to get underway this July, with completion of the homes set to be in April of next year.

The houses, which will be available for social rent, will have the largest amount of solar panelling on the roofs for a housing development in the country and will be carbon negative in energy use, meaning they will use less energy than they create, allowing the excess to be fed in to the national grid.

They are also built using natural materials in the external walls.

Mr Mysleyko said: “The main aim was to develop a ‘carbon negative’ housing scheme but we are also aiming to achieve a development that will meet all the necessary standards for a housing association, whilst still being affordable to construct.”

The project was approved at a recent planning committee but is awaiting the signing of a ‘section 106’ legal agreement before it is finalised.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .