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The Crown Estate is seeking partners for two net zero homes pilots.
The projects have been identified to explore the opportunities and challenges of delivering industry-leading net zero housing developments. Both will draw on best practice in sustainable design and construction and encourage innovation to minimise operational and embodied carbon.
The two projects are:
- A site at Wootton in Bedford comprising of 15 acres of land with a Neighbourhood Plan allocation for around 50 homes, 30% of which will be affordable.
- A site in Knutsford in Cheshire with outline consent for up to 60 homes, 30% affordable homes, as well as associated road infrastructure (a link road and roundabout).
Partners will be expected to follow market leading guidance and embrace circular economy and regenerative principles in their proposals. At Knutsford, there is an additional challenge of delivering low carbon road infrastructure.
The Crown Estate will look to apply lessons learned from these demonstration projects to their larger scale projects – and information will be made publicly available to inform best practice within the wider industry.
Rob Chesworth, Head of Regional Residential at The Crown Estate, said:
Tackling housing supply and climate change are critical issues facing the UK. At The Crown Estate, we want to see how best we can be part of the solution by looking at the way we address these challenges through our Regional portfolio. By being bold and pushing existing industry standards through these pilot projects and sharing our learning, we hope to demonstrate that high quality, net zero carbon homes are deliverable at scale and can form the cornerstone of vibrant, sustainable communities.
We want to work with aligned SMEs and entrepreneurs who are putting innovation and sustainability at the forefront of housebuilding and community-focused development to raise industry standards and galvanise momentum to meet the sector’s decarbonisation challenge.
