Summit House™ in Residence at Allerton Bywater

 

16.03.2006

 

Allerton Bywater is one of English Partnerships’ seven Millennium Communities. A former mining community, Allerton was previously subjected to heavy industrial work. The site will now be reinvigorated and expanded to become a modern, sustainable housing development providing 520 high quality, environmentally friendly, energy efficient homes, commercial and community facilities.

Bywater Court is an exemplar 23-property development that has been designed by PRP Architects using Fusion Building Systems Ltd residential steel frame technology. At its heart will stand English Partnerships Summit House™, based on a prototype that was originally designed by PRP in 2005. Not only will it be made commercially available to the public after having been previously exhibited at the Sustainable Communities Summit and BRE Offsite, but the design criteria of the Summit House™ will also provide the blueprint for the remaining 22 properties.

The Summit House™ incorporates high levels of innovation with special attention to low energy, highly sustainable design using Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) and incorporating best urban design practice. The solution has in built flexibility and provides cost effective housing to suit different market sectors and lifestyles.

Achieving an Ecohomes ‘Excellent’ rating, ‘Secured by Design’ accreditation and full ‘Lifetime Homes’ standards, the house types demonstrate how good design allied with residential steel frame systems offers an increasing level of off-site manufacturing opportunities that promote the integration of efficient construction methods to ensure the wider development industry can meet and exceed the existing standards of build quality and reliability.

Michael Martin, Director of Fleming Developments UK comments; “Bywater Court will showcase how steel frame technology is ideal for delivering cutting edge cost effective high quality attractive homes. Outperforming all the alternatives, the Fusion Building System technology proved the most practical option in the design and delivery of a model development that, above all, appeal to builders and house-buyers alike.”

Each home has been designed to incorporate, as standard, environmentally beneficial features such as passive warming and cooling to reduce energy use, and an accessible services riser for delivering specific requirements such as water-saving, grey water technologies or community heating systems.

<>Great attention has been paid to the planning of the development which incorporates pedestrian-focused, homezone-style, secure layouts which have been carefully designed to maximise amenity provision, townscape quality and integration with existing and new landscaping.

Ian Charlesworth, Senior Regeneration Manager for English Partnerships continues; “This exciting scheme is an integral part of the vision for the Millennium communities. With its environmentally beneficial features, flexible living space and appealing design, the English Partnerships Summit House™ is central to the entire Bywater Court development, and offers the industry a strong example of how to meet the demands of the Sustainable Communities Plan.”

Furthermore, at the heart of each design, a clear-spanning floor structure allows internal partitions to be easily added or removed, changing room sizes and shapes according to residents’ needs over time. This flexibility, well above the already stringent Lifetime Homes standards, is a key aspect of the homes’ sustainability.

Adam Firth, PRP architect on the project comments; “Bywater Court demonstrates how environmentally conscious, progressive and innovative design is achievable using state of the art MMC technology. The resultant scheme achieves excellent urban design and marketability in a high quality, quickly delivered package - the homes at Bywater Court set a high standard for housing developments across the country.”

Notes to Editors

Allerton Bywater Millennium Community is being built on a 24 ha former colliery site 10 km south-east of Leeds, and was the second Millennium Community to be identified. Allerton Bywater is best known for being home to the last colliery in Leeds, which closed in 1992. Following its closure, many local people lost their jobs and the British Coal Board headquarters became derelict. The local Miners’ Welfare Hall fell into disrepair and the old infant school closed. Around 4,000 people live in the village today.

  1. Fleming Developments UK The Fleming Group is one of the leading developers and contractors in Ireland – ranking as one of the top 10 companies. Since 1975 the "Fleming" name has been a symbol of quality on various projects all over Ireland and, with the 2005 launch of Fleming Developers UK, they plan to maximise their capacity for off-site manufacture and MMC by addressing the potential market opportunities offered in the UK. The company is currently managing developments in Allerton Bywater and Hampshire. For more information on the Fleming Group: www.fleminggroup.ie

  2. Fusion Building Systems UK Limited provides a complete system for the manufacture and erection of insulated steel frame housing. Bringing together leading edge computer aided design and manufacture (CAD/CAM) FUSION has been developed from a builders perspective to provide simple innovations that can be practically applied to house-building using MMC - maximising cost-effectiveness without having to compromise on design, quality or desirability.

  3. As a member of the Steel Homes Group (SHG),Fusion Building Systems UK Limited is involved in spearheading the re-emergence of light steel, as a viable option in quality residential construction, to revolutionise the building and selling of homes in the 21st Century.

  4. English Partnerships is the Government’s national regeneration agency. Our aim is to deliver high quality, sustainable growth in England. We do this by developing our portfolio of strategic projects and acting as the Government’s specialist advisor on brownfield land. We also ensure that surplus public sector assets are used to support wider Government objectives, especially those contained in the Sustainable Communities Plan. English Partnerships helps to create communities where people can afford to live and want to live, and supports the urban renaissance by improving the quality of our towns and cities. Information on projects and programmes can be found at www.englishpartnerships.co.uk

  5. Millennium Communities Programme: The Millennium Communities Programme was initiated in 1997 with the launch of the design competition for the Greenwich Millennium Village. A range of different types of sites have been chosen to demonstrate that energy efficient, environmentally responsible development is achievable regardless of geographic location. These are Greenwich, South London; Allerton Bywater, near Leeds; New Islington, Ancoats, East Manchester; South Lynn, King’s Lynn East Anglia; East Ketley, Telford; Oakgrove, Milton Keynes and Hastings, East Sussex. One of the main objectives of the Programme is to influence the housebuilding industry and to encourage higher standards of innovation and efficiency.