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Low carbon homes approved for Portland
22 July 2009
Planners have today (July 22) given the green light for a new
low carbon community to be built on Portland in Dorset.
Sustainable developer ZeroC, in partnership with the South West
RDA (Regional Development Agency), will build 77 low carbon homes
on RDA-owned land at Osprey Quay.
The project is the latest step in the RDA's £40 million
regeneration of the former Royal Navy Air Station, where it hopes
to create 1,400 jobs by 2016 and leave a lasting economic
legacy.
The planning approval from Weymouth & Portland Borough
Council, which is conditional on a Section 106 agreement being
signed, will also trigger an investment of up to £500,000 in local
community facilities from the sale of the site to ZeroC.
The new contemporary designed homes will form an impressive
backdrop to the sailing events for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic
Games, which are being staged at Portland.
With wood pellet boilers, rainwater harvesting systems, solar
water heating, and solar panels to generate electricity, the homes
will reduce carbon emissions by more than half compared with
conventional new build properties. Residents will also be able to
join an electric car club to reduce emissions even further.
Alison Hatcher, head of regeneration for the South West RDA in
Dorset, said: "We're delighted that the borough's planners have
approved this landmark scheme for Portland. The RDA is leading the
South West's transition to a low carbon economy and with the
support of Zero C this new community will show how it can be
done."
Kim Slowe, managing director of Dorchester-based Zero C, who is
a former Royal Navy helicopter pilot who was based at Portland,
said: "We believe this will be an exemplar development of which
both we and the local community will be very proud and is yet
another facet to the ongoing regeneration of Osprey Quay."
The scheme includes 19 high quality affordable homes for local
people varying in size from one to three bedrooms.
To ensure that the scheme leaves a legacy for Portland, the
South West RDA will use up to £500,000 of the land receipts to
improve local facilities. These include:
- Improvements to Victoria Gardens including new seating and
play facilities
- Retention and upgrading of the sports field on Officer's
Field
- The creation of a state of the art skate park to replace the
existing one
- Improvements to Osprey Quay Leisure Centre
The houses have been designed by the award winning contemporary
architects HTA and are all being built to the standard of Code for
Sustainable Homes Level 4.
ZeroC was the winner of the prestigious What House 'Sustainable
Developer of the Year' award in 2008 and is one of the United
Kingdom's foremost sustainable developers. ZeroC is also one of the
developers on the acclaimed Prince of Wales Poundbury development
in Dorchester.
ZeroC will start work on site in September and the scheme is
expected to take two years to complete.
Ends
Notes to editors
1. The attached images show how the new development would
look.
2. The South West RDA bought Osprey Quay on Portland in Dorset
in 2000 following the closure of the Royal Navy Air Station. The
aim was to secure the economic future of Portland by having a wide
range of leisure and employment uses.
3. The RDA has earmarked ca £40 million for Osprey Quay and its
investment in new roads, services and flood defences, and new
public access to the waterfront has already attracted significant
private sector investment. The RDA also invested £3.34 million in
the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, helping to lay
the foundations for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
For further information on the ZeroC scheme please contact:
ZeroC:
Kim Slowe
Managing Director
ZeroC Holdings Limited
Armitage House, Victor Jackson Avenue
Poundbury
Dorchester
Dorset, DT1 3GY
01305 250427
k.slowe@zerocholdings.co.uk
South West RDA:
Jason Clark
Deborah Clark Associates
01208-77900
jason.clark@dca-pr.co.uk
Contact Details
Name: Jason Clark
Tel: 01208-77900
Email: jason.clark@dca-pr.co.uk