ENGIE, leading energy and services company, has commenced work on a new £16.2m sustainable development in Cheshire, delivering several zero carbon homes that will help the local council reduce carbon emissions and bring down living costs for residents.
ENGIE is redeveloping the brownfield site in Winsford, in partnership with QWest Homes, Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWAC) and ForViva; providing an attractive new development of 138 low carbon homes — five of which are designed to be zero carbon — with significant assistance from Homes England Accelerated Construction funding programme.
In addition to the 138 two, three- and four-bedroom homes, the scheme will also deliver improvements to local highway infrastructure and includes provision of quality open space as a community focal point. The new energy-efficient homes will all feature electric vehicle charging points as standard, but customers will also have the option to upgrade their new home to net zero carbon by utilising further renewable energy systems and integrating smart home technology.
Peter Hayes, Head of Land and Partnerships at ENGIE, said: “The signing of this deal is the culmination of 18 months of working collaboratively with our partners to develop this innovative new, financially efficient housing delivery model, helping QWest and the Council to deliver low carbon, affordable homes.
“This progressive project not only serves to support the council’s climate emergency action plan; but will offer much-needed warm and affordable homes for tenants.
“As an organisation, ENGIE is proud to be working with our partners in local authorities, housing associations and registered providers, across the UK, on the transition to a zero-carbon future. We are continuing to offer viable and lucrative solutions which support the green agenda and this new scheme in Winsford is a prime example of partnership working at its best.”
Ben Cummins, Managing Director of QWest Services and QWest Homes commented: “We’re delighted to assist CW&C in becoming one of the first Councils in the UK to develop its own self sufficient model to deliver quality affordable housing of its own, whilst at the same time helping the Council to utilise its land assets more efficiently and offering local people greater quality, choice and affordability in the local housing market”.
Councillor Matt Bryan, Lead Member-Housing, Cheshire West & Chester Council said: “We have been working with private sector developers for a number of years now to ensure the Council delivers its much-needed affordable housing in a more efficient manner. I am delighted we have taken this a step further with a joint venture with QWest Homes, which delivers truly sustainable mixed tenure homes which meets the diverse housing needs of our residents and meets our climate emergency obligations as outlined in our response plan”.
QWest Homes is a joint venture between Cheshire West & Chester Council and ENGIE, diversifying the activities of the already established QWest Services, which currently delivers a number of key public services in partnership with CW&C.
As part of this development, QWest Homes will also partner with Salford based ForViva Housing Group and Homes England, the latter providing over £4m of additional public funding through its Accelerated Construction programme, aimed at increasing supply of quality new family homes nationally.
The project is expected to complete in February 2023.
