If it takes a brave housebuilder to build in a town that doesn’t enjoy the best of reputations, imagine what’s required to develop three communities in the same conurbation? Places for People, however, are no ordinary housebuilder. And Milton Keynes, the town in question, is no blighted spot, but merely one that is a little misunderstood.
Forty years old last year, Milton Keynes is a self-governing unitary authority. Centrally located, 45 miles northwest of London, its best known for its central grid style road system and perimeter roads linked by a series of roundabouts. Oh, and concrete cows. If Places for People carry on the way they are, however, Milton Keynes is going to become renowned for its sustainable communities.
How so? First off Places for People have developed 229 homes at Broughton Atterbury, located just off Junction 14 of the M1, to Ecohomes Excellent standard. The rating achieved makes it one of the largest schemes in the UK to receive the highest possible assessment. In total, only 10 per cent of homes assessed are awarded a rating of Excellent.
Ian Meikle, Ecohomes commercial manager, said: “Broughton Square is an impressive scheme and the Ecohomes point score achieved is very high. It’s unusual for such a larges scheme as this to achieve an Ecohomes Excellent rating. The cost per unit has also come out much lower than one would expect. This is very encouraging and sends out a positive message to developers that, although EcoHomes can save the Earth, it doesn’t have to cost it.”
The fact that an Ecohomes Excellent rating has been achieved at an average spend of only an additional £1,887 per property is remarkable, especially given it has been achieved within a mixed-tenure development. As well as having residential, commercial and retail premises, located around a central square, Broughton Atterbury has a mix of affordable and private housing – not that you can tell which is which (tenure blind).
Nicholas Doyle, Places for People project director for Environmental Sustainability, said: “One of the biggest challenges all housebulders face is to be able to create genuine mixed-tenure communities. I believe we are achieving this at Broughton Atterbury. The fact that we are able to so while achieving an Ecohomes Excellent rating is what we set out to do, but it’s still really pleasing to have pulled it off so well.”
Places for People, who not only develop but also property manage, have taken their learning from Broughton Atterbury and are applying it elsewhere locally and nationally. Across the UK, the company, which operates as a not for dividend entity, has 80 projects in progress across nine regions in counties as diverse as Cambridgeshire, Tyneside and Lancashire. It manages properties that are home to more than 100,000 inhabitants, and has plans to build 15,000 new homes in the next five years.
Three hundred of the new properties are being built at nearby Wolverton Park, near Milton Keynes, including 77 townhouses that are being constructed within an existing historically significant Royal Train Sheds on the site. The vast buildings, which functioned as workshops, will become home to houses (30 per cent affordable), apartments and leisure, retail and restaurant facilities, each developed in an environmentally sustainable manner.
Renewable technologies are being incorporated into the buildings’ fabric. A wind turbine will generate electricity, and solar thermal panels will provide domestic hot water requirements. Rainwater will be harvested and fed into a pond that will be central to the elevated site. Air-flow taps will feature. The FSC accredited timber-framed townhouses will be super-insulated. All properties will achieve an Ecohomes Very Good rating.
Doyle said: “The combination of old and new buildings at Wolverton Park presents particular challenges, which we are rising to. We will be able to generate five per cent of energy needs from onsite renewables. As a company, we have an ethos that we will try to incorporate any new technology or practice that has a good chance of being mainstreamed. So we never say no to looking at all the available opportunities.”
Prices start from £75,000 for a 50 per cent share in a one-bedroom apartment at Wolverton Park, with the option to staircase – up or down – possible. Places for People have a mortgage arm too that works with the Co-operative Bank to offer competitive loans. The townhouses will be released for sale in July 2007. Building began in February 2007 and is expected to be complete by January next year.
In the meantime, Places for People is developing a third project in central Milton Keynes. In partnership with English Partnerships, West End One will consist of 650 homes – some for sale, rent and shared ownership – as well as retail and commercial units. As part of the Concerto initiative, a European Union project that includes communities in Spain, France and the Netherlands, the scheme is to be an example in how to develop an environmentally sustainable community.
Doyle is excited by the future environmental opportunities West End One, Wolverton Park and the other new projects will bring, as much he is by the challenges of retrofitting Places for People’s existing housing stock. “We in the industry have talked about sustainability issues a great deal over the past few years. Now that we know what’s expected [via the Code for Sustainable Homes], it’s time to stop talking and start achieving the targets laid down on a large scale. It can be done!”
