Positive Passivhaus progress in Cambridgeshire

Exciting Passivhaus developments are underway in Cambridgeshire, spearheaded by Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council.

Greater Cambridge Shared Planning has recently put forward a Local Plan out for consultation, with the bold and inspiring requirement that “All housing and non-domestic buildings should have a space heating demand of 15-20 kWh per metre squared per year" - similar to Passivhaus requirements!

Meanwhile, Cambridge Investment Partnership, a partnership between Cambridge City Council and Hill Investment Partnerships, is embarking on a number of low carbon council housing developments, designed to Passivhaus standards across the region. Cambridge City Council's 2021 Sustainable Housing Design Guide guides its ambitions, including targeting a step up to full net zero delivery by 2030, and targeting Passivhaus standards from 2021, subject to financial viability and site constraints.

Greater Cambridge Local Plan

The draft Greater Cambridge Local Plan proposes the following for Net Zero Carbon Buildings – operational emissions:

1. Part A: All housing and non-domestic buildings should achieve a specific space heating demand as follows:

All new dwellings should have a space heating demand of 15-20 kWh per metre squared per year
All non-domestic buildings should achieve a space heating demand of 15-20 kWh per metre squared per year

2. All heating should be provided through low carbon fuels (not fossil fuels).

3. No new developments should be connected to the gas grid.

The draft Local Plan is undergoing development and won’t be implemented until the mid 2020s but represents a significant advancement in local authority support for the metrics associated with the Passivhaus standard.

Social housing

Cambridge Investment Partnership (CIP) has been established to address the housing shortage across Cambridge by providing high-quality brand new council homes and market sale homes, commercial and community facilities.

CIP is undertaking a number of initial smaller Passivhaus pilot developments before scaling up its low carbon housing. These pilot schemes contribute to learning on MMC-led options as well as adaptation of traditional techniques toward highly sustainable delivery, The team is keen to identify a “Cambridge-approach” to cost effectively and successfully rolling out a highly efficient housing product and development methodology. In addition, all new CIP developments are gas free, ahead of the Government’s targets.

We are now in an era of increasing living costs, which are impacting everyone, so I’m delighted that we are able to bring forward this Passivhaus pilot scheme to not only deliver the much needed council housing in the city, but to provide homes that cut energy bills, tackle fuel poverty and are great places to live.

Gerri Bird, Executive Councillor for Housing at Cambridge City Council & CIP board member

Fen Road, East Chesterton

Number of homes: 12

Construction: Offsite timber frame construction

Team:: Cambridge Investment Partnsership & Pollard Thomas Edwards Architects

Aiming for: Passivhaus Classic

Fen Road, Cambridgeshire. Image credit: Cambridge Investment Partnership

Ditton Fields

Number of homes: 6

Construction: Offsite timber frame construction

Team:: Cambridge Investment Partnsership & Pollard Thomas Edwards Architects

Aiming for: Passivhaus Classic

Ditton Fields Cambridgeshire. Image credit: Pollard Thomas Edwards Architects

Borrowdale

Number of homes: 6

Construction: Offsite timber frame construction

Team:: Cambridge Investment Partnsership & Pollard Thomas Edwards Architects

Aiming for: Passivhaus Classic

Borrowdale, Cambridgeshire. Image credit: Cambridge Investment Partnership

The CIP is working to delivering a minimum of 1700 new homes within 10 years, 1000 of which will be council homes. Other developments being proposed by CIP that are potentially aiming for Passivhaus, include the 70 home Aylsborough Close project. We look forward to plans progressing.

The pilot will allow us to explore the delivery of cost-efficient low carbon housing for the future in terms of up-front building costs, ongoing maintenance costs for the Council and low bills for residents.

Tom Hill, Regional Director of Hill