Leeds is often referred to as being one of the most innovative cities in the whole of the UK, seeing rapid growth throughout recent years, and it looks like 2021 is set to be no different. The UK’s first low carbon urban neighbourhood is being developed on Leeds’s South Bank, set to have over 120 newly built houses and apartments, all designed to be environmentally efficient form the start.
This is all made possible thanks to a £19m loan that has been granted to developer, Citu, by Ingenious Real Estate Finance LLP, who are a real estate finance organisation aiming to pave the way forward toward more eco-friendly, modern homes.
This latest addition is brought forward as a part of the Aire Valley Restoration Area Action Plan, aiming to lead regeneration in the area and build over 800 homes in total across multiple phases. This comes as a part of the Local Plan for the Leeds area, which is set out to help Leeds reach housing and area targets set out in 201-2017 by the deadline of 2033.
The entire project is designed to utilise the latest in eco friendly building materials, methods and technologies my utilising airtightness over 1000% more than the required UK building regulations standard, and utilising MVHR systems to regulate air quality without losing any heat, thus maintaining such high efficiency levels.
Sustainable architecture and carbon efficient home designs are only growing in popularity, and projects exactly like this could be revolutionary in modern housing moving forward, especially as large development projects that are endorsed by councils.
There does of course still leave room for further development in the field of sustainable building in the UK, even on top of the huge steps already taken with the systems implemented here. Utilising things like renewable energy sources like solar, wind and even hydropower through the River Aire could all be next on the list to take things to a truly green place.
