Heathcott Road

About this project

Just off Heathcott Road, Saffron Lane, Leicester, lies one of the biggest Passivhaus affordable housing scheme in the country. The once disused and overgrown 13.2 acres of land has been regenerated into a £7m community made up of a permaculture farm and 68 eco-homes that have been built to Passivhaus standards.

The scheme has been successful as it has provided much-needed affordable housing that has been built to an extremely high standard of energy efficiency. The development is made up of a diverse range of homes to suit a variety of needs in the Leicester community. There is a mix of 1-4 bed houses, 8 of which have been designed to suit wheelchair users. The affordability of the scheme makes the houses accessible to everyone, giving families, couples and individuals a well-designed, environmentally friendly and community orientated place to live in the city.

The use of Westleigh Partnerships’ Westframe PassiPlus+ timber framing significantly contributed to attaining Passivhaus certification. The innovative timber framing achieves U-values as low as 0.1W/m2K, providing a practical method to achieve Passivhaus certification for thermal performance, air tightness and thermal bridging. The technology provided a quick, quality controlled, more energy-efficient and cost-effective construction process making it the ideal method for this project.

Awards

SHIFT awards 2017 Winner of Best New Build Project

Structural Timber Awards 2017 Winner Social Housing Project of the Year and Timber Frame Project of the Year