New Passivhaus homes in Salford receive planning approval

Salford City Council’s planning committee has given the green light to ECF’s 100 sustainable, affordable apartments on Peru Street in Salford, which forms part of its place-changing Crescent Salford collaboration.

Members welcomed the development, particularly the delivery of new affordable housing in the city, as well as its sustainability credentials.

ECF is our joint venture with the government’s housing and regeneration agency, Homes England and Legal & General, one of the UK’s leading financial services groups and major global investor. Our partnership was set up in 2001, to bring together the best of the public and private sector, to transform urban areas and create exceptional new places.

The new homes, which form part of the wider 252-acre, £2.5bn Crescent Salford masterplan, have been designed to be Passivhaus certified. Passivhaus buildings are designed in their nature to provide a comfortable environment for residents, but importantly can reduce energy bills by up to 90%. This is achieved through a whole-building approach to efficiency and high-quality construction, which is independently tested and verified.

Peru Street will be the second development of sustainable and affordable apartments that ECF is bringing forward, following the success of Greenhaus – another pioneering Passivhaus-certified development that’s due to complete in March 2024. Greenhaus is a 96-home apartment development, which is creating affordable homes for local housing association, Salix, and is part of its £1bn, 50-acre Salford Central regeneration. Both developments have been designed by renowned local architects, Buttress.

The plans for Peru Street are designed to create cohesive, sustainable, and thriving community, which:

• minimise operational energy use to address fuel consumption issues
• promote sustainable transport with good transport connections within walking distance and storage for 100 bikes
• include open-plan living areas to provide sufficient space for residents to work from home
• incorporate Juliette balconies to create a connection between the internal and outside areas
• include four fully accessible ground-floor apartments with nearby parking.

Joe Stockton, Senior Development Manager at ECF, said:

Salford City Mayor Paul Dennett said: “It is fantastic news that the planning panel has given this energy efficient scheme the approval.

“People in Salford are desperate for high-quality affordable homes. Making them to Passivhaus standards, which are hugely energy efficient, mean that in this cost-of-living crisis people who are already struggling can save huge amounts on their energy bills.

“The construction process also creates jobs for local people and apprentices can learn from the opportunities that are available. We want to see much more of this in Salford as we push to provide more affordable homes for local people.”

Commenting on the plans Alison Haigh, Associate at Buttress said: “This is great news for Salford. With climate change and the cost of living such critical issues, Buttress are extremely proud to design a second collection of Passivhaus affordable apartments for ECF. The scheme builds on the success and experience of Greenhaus – the pioneering Passivhaus-certified development due to be completed in March 2024. We are looking forward to seeing the positive impact both developments will bring.”

It’s anticipated that the new homes will start on site in early 2024.