South Shields carbon-negative housing development receives two accolades

The UK’s first carbon negative social housing development in South Shields has been honoured with two accolades.

Sinclair Meadows beat six other shortlisted projects to win the ‘Innovation’ category at the Constructing Excellence in the North East awards.

It has also been named one of the top 50 affordable housing developments across the UK by Inside Housing.

The pioneering South Shields homes, funded by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and Four Housing Group, generate more electricity than they use, feeding electricity back into the grid.

The development also has the ability to wipe out the carbon footprint created in its construction within 2.8 years.

Sinclair Meadows was developed by not-for-profit housing provider, Four Housing Group in partnership with South Tyneside Council and environmental charity Groundwork South Tyneside and Newcastle, Galliford Try Partnerships North and Fitz Architects.

Dawn Keightley, Group Director of Operations at Four Housing Group, said: “The vision from the outset was to create a social housing development that was not only affordable but would also be the first to achieve carbon negativity.

“This means the homes actually create more energy than they use, making Sinclair Meadows one of the most eco-friendly developments in the UK.

“Many people have invested a lot of time and effort in making Sinclair Meadows become a reality for our residents.

“We are thrilled with the recognition from Constructing Excellence and Inside Housing; it’s fantastic to get recognition for a job well done.”

The housing development consists of nine three-bedroom houses and 12 two-bedroom apartments.

More than 500 applications were received by prospective tenants and the 21 successful applicants were required to attend a training programme to learn about a carbon negative lifestyle before taking residency.

Tenants learned about using the rainwater harvesting system to flush toilets, and programming appliances to operate during the day to make the most efficient use of energy from the solar panels.

The estate sits on the perimeter of planned regeneration including 400 new homes, community facilities and shops, while also contributing to South Tyneside Council’s pledge to cut carbon emissions by 20 per cent by 2020.

The UK Government has a target to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 80 per cent by 2050 compared to 1990 levels.

Housing stock is responsible for over a quarter of CO2 emissions in the UK, driving a requirement to reduce housing emissions and home energy use, by 2016, all new build housing in the UK will be legally required to be carbon zero.

Sinclair Meadows goes beyond that to achieve carbon negative status, meeting the community’s need for 100 per cent affordable housing while leading the way in the creation of truly sustainable homes.

And according to Inside Housing, what made Sinclair Meadows stand out as a clear winner is the fact the development is the beginning of a major redevelopment of the area.

Stuart Macdonald, editor of Inside Housing and Andy Rose, chief executive of the Homes and Communities Agency, issued a joint statement saying: “A total of 146,420 homes were completed in the UK last year – of these 36,900 were built by housing associations or councils, according to government statistics.

“More than 6,000 homes were entered, so choosing just 50 schemes was no mean feat. Four Housing Group and its partners should be very proud of this achievement.