Crown Estate selects SMEs for low carbon projects

The Crown Estate has selected three SMEs to deliver its low carbon housing demonstration projects in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Cheshire.

igloo Regeneration, gs8 and TOWN have been selected “for their innovative approaches to delivering high-quality, sustainable housing,” the Crown Estate said today (January 20).

The announcement follows its launch in August 2023 of then-two projects in Bedfordshire and Cheshire, aimed to test different approaches and concentrate on embodied carbon as well as energy efficiency. It sought SME and entrepreneurial partners for its initiative.

The Crown Estate said the demonstration schemes would explore cutting-edge solutions, firstly to better understand the challenges and opportunities of building homes to quality standards. The ultimate goal is to deliver an accelerated pipeline of sustainable and inclusive housing.

These new approaches will be applied to the 200 homes across the three sites. Each project carries ambitious targets, including achieving upfront carbon levels of less than 300kg CO₂/m² and operational energy use intensity of 35kWh/m²/year.

The projects are set to achieve a minimum 15% biodiversity net gain, include onsite renewable energy regeneration and be built to Passivhaus standards to ensure healthy and energy efficient living.

The Crown Estate said it hoped …