Affordable Passivhaus homes top out in Salford
26.02.25 4 min read
As part of our ECF partnership with Homes England and Legal & General – Willohaus, a collection of high quality, 100% affordable Passivhaus Classic certified homes – has achieved a significant milestone as the first aspect of the £2.5bn Crescent Salford masterplan to top out.
Located on Peru Street in Salford, Willohaus, comprising highly sustainable one and two-bedroomed apartments, has reached its highest point, officially topping out at 21 metres. It forms the first phase of Adelphi Village, which will bring more than 700 new homes to Salford. Situated to the east of the River Irwell, the community is part of the wider 240-acre Crescent Salford masterplan we’re delivering through the Crescent Partnership comprising ECF, Salford City Council, and the University of Salford.
Housing association Salix Homes is ECF’s housing partner for Willohaus, which is being delivered with support from Buttress Architects, engineering consultancy Max Fordham and lead contractor Eric Wright Construction.
Work began on the five and six-storey building in April 2024 and is expected to complete in 2026. The eco-friendly apartments will feature Juliet balconies to improve residents’ connection between indoor and outdoor spaces. Additionally, there will be storage for 100 bikes to promote sustainable travel and foster a lively, active community.
Designed to stringent Passivhaus standards, Willohaus offers a green, affordable solution that can reduce energy bills by up to 90% compared to traditional housing. It will also provide a healthy, comfortable environment for residents and its highly sustainable features will help them to reduce their carbon footprints. The future-proofed homes aim to close the ‘Performance Gap’ and provide resilience against overheating, with the quality assurance of the Passivhaus design standard offering a performance guarantee.
Speaking on behalf of the Crescent Partnership, Simon Hourihan, project director, said:
Willohaus is the second collection of sustainable, affordable apartments that we’ve brought forward – through the ECF partnership – with Salix Homes following the success of Greenhaus, another pioneering Passivhaus certified development on Chapel Street in Salford.
Liam Turner, Executive Director of Assets, Growth and Sustainability at Salix Homes, said:
“Reaching this key stage in the development of Willohaus is another exciting milestone in our commitment to delivering high-quality, affordable, and sustainable homes in Salford.
“At a time when the need for affordable, energy-efficient homes has never been greater, we’re proud to be working alongside our partners to deliver homes that are better for the environment, support Salford’s carbon-neutral ambitions, and help tackle fuel poverty – providing residents with lower energy bills and a healthier place to live.”
Salix Homes secured grant funding for the development from Homes England and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), alongside its own investment. Willohaus is the first Passivhaus development to benefit from funding through the new ‘trailblazer’ devolution protocols, which have seen GMCA given greater powers and funding via the Affordable Homes Programme.
John Harnett, Managing Director of Eric Wright Construction added;
“We are thrilled to have reached the topping out point at Willohaus. Our organisation has an enviable record of delivering high quality affordable homes across the North West.
“This latest Passivhaus residential development follows on from our successful delivery of Greenhaus, a nine-storey Passivhaus certified development, and we’re proud to again be working with our valued clients, ECF and Salix Homes.”
Our ECF partnership has recently submitted plans for a second Passivhaus community in Crescent Salford. Located on Cleminson Street, Farmer Norton phase one will include 42 low-rise, three-bedroomed homes and will form the second phase of Adelphi Village. If plans are approved, work is due to commence in Summer 2025.