MANCHESTER ANNOUNCED AS FIRST CITY IN BRITAIN TO GET CARBON ZERO HOUSING

The UK's first ever carbon zero housing development has just achieved planning permission to be built in Manchester's Northern Quarter by Reddish based building firm Moylan Homes.

The carbon zero rated Xantium building on Mason Street will house 61 apartments (49 two bed and 12 one bed) designed to meet ‘Code 6’, the highest possible rating in the new government system to measure the sustainability of new homes. The scheme, which was designed by award winning Manchester based Makin Architecture, will also feature four commercial units at street level, covering around 7,000 sqft, which will be constructed to ‘BREEAM Excellent’, the highest current BREEAM rating.

The apartments, which start at 150k for a 675sq metre one bedroom home, will feature groundbreaking designs and facilities which enable them to produce no carbon emissions at all – the first homes in the UK to do so. From water recycling and its own on site generator to a roof garden, Xantium is setting a new standard for sustainable and affordable building design in the UK. Xantium also boasts far larger than average outside space – on average 14% of each apartment will be designated as outdoor terrace living space.

In achieving ‘Code 6’ for this type of development, eight years ahead of the government’s target, Moylan Homes is actively demonstrating that it is possible to build carbon neutral buildings today.

Read more about Xantium

Chairman of Moylan Homes, Martin Moylan comments:
“We are immensely proud to be the first builder in the UK to make this commitment to the future of sustainable housing in Britain. The government, environmental agencies and consumers are increasingly aware of the urgent need to reduce carbon emissions. We have been able – against a background of much industry scepticism – to devise and develop a forward looking, aesthetically pleasing scheme that will be the first to be classified as Code 6, one that produces no carbon dioxide at all. Xantium really is spearheading a new era of housing in the UK.”

The Xantium building will offer a range of innovative features that address the health, safety, wellbeing and ecology concerns of residents. Highlights of the development include:

  • - Zero Stamp Duty on all apartments due to the Code 6 Accreditation

  • - Every apartment has a larger than usual terrace, providing further amenity space, with 80% enclosure and equivalent to 14% of the total space.

  • - The highest efficiency walls and windows reducing heat loss and solar gain

  • - Large windows take advantage of daylight whilst punched copper screens provide privacy and solar shading

  • - Energy efficient cooking and heating appliances including under floor water pipes and air heat recovery

  • 122 secure bicycle spaces    - in the basement

  • - Water saving features including rainwater and grey water harvesting and water efficient appliances

  • - A green area on the roof to support English native wildflowers and grasses and encourage biodiversity including an area specifically designed to encourage protected Black Redstart birds

  • - Increasing security and cost of utilities are an ever growing concern but all heat and electricity needs of Xantium residents will be supplied on-site through a combination of photovoltaic cells, Bio-fuel and Biomass generators.

  • - Rainwater and grey water will be captured and recycled; this along with reduced flow sanitary fittings will mean that water consumption will also be drastically slashed. In addition high levels of thermal mass will keep occupants cooler in summer and warmer in winter and with thermal insulation up to 0.1 W/m2 K energy usage will be reduced to the absolute minimum.

Councillor Richard Cowell, Executive Member for Planning at Manchester City Council, said:
"We welcome the commitment of all developers who seek to achieve very high environmental standards. Moylan Homes are working towards an exemplar scheme and I would be delighted if this development reaches the very highest level in attaining a carbon neutral footprint."

Zero carbon new homes are critical in achieving the governments target to cut C02 by at least 60% by 2050 and by 2016 all new homes in England will have to be carbon neutral. In order to achieve Code 6, which quantifies net carbon emissions of zero, every component used in the building has to be renewable, sustainable and/or ecologically sound.