Projects

New Passivhaus homes in Salford receive planning approval

Salford City Council’s planning committee has given the green light to the Buttress-designed, sustainable, affordable apartments on Peru Street in Salford for client The English Cities Fund. 

Council members welcomed the development, particularly the delivery of new affordable housing in the city, as well as its sustainability credentials.

The new homes, which form part of The English Cities Fund's (ECF) wider 252-acre, £2.5bn Crescent Salford masterplan, have been designed to be Passivhaus certified. Passivhaus buildings are designed to provide a comfortable environment for residents but most importantly can significantly reduce energy bills. This is achieved through a whole-building approach to efficiency and high-quality construction, which is independently tested and verified.

Peru Street will be the second development of sustainable and affordable apartments that ECF is bringing forward, following the success of Greenhaus – another Buttress-designed Passivhaus development that is due to complete in March 2024. Greenhaus is a 96-home apartment development, which is creating affordable homes for local housing association, Salix, and is part of its £1bn, 50-acre Salford Central regeneration. 

Pink/brown block of apartments on a tree lined area
Proposed Peru Street apartments - view from North George Street

The plans for Peru Street are designed to create a cohesive, sustainable, and thriving community, which:

  • minimise operational energy use to address fuel consumption issues
  • promote sustainable transport with good transport connections within walking distance and storage for 100 bikes
  • include open-plan living areas to provide sufficient space for residents to work from home
  • incorporate Juliette balconies to create a connection between the internal and outside areas
  • include four fully accessible ground-floor apartments with nearby parking.

Commenting on the plans Alison Haigh, Associate at Buttress said:

“This is great news for Salford. With climate change and the cost of living such critical issues, Buttress are extremely proud to design a second collection of Passivhaus affordable apartments for The English Cities Fund. The scheme builds on the success and experience of Greenhaus – the pioneering Passivhaus-certified development due to be completed in March 2024. We are looking forward to seeing the positive impact both developments will bring.”

Joe Stockton, Senior Development Manager at ECF, said:

We’re delighted to receive consent for our latest phase of affordable sustainable homes in Salford. Creating places that matter to people and that leave a positive impact in the areas we work, is a key pillar of our approach and runs through everything we do.”

We’ve applied our learnings from Greenhaus onto Peru Street and we look forward to creating more sustainable, affordable homes for the people of Salford. ”The construction process also creates jobs for local people and apprentices can learn from the opportunities that are available. We want to see much more of this in Salford as we push to provide more affordable homes for local people.”

It’s anticipated that the new homes will start on-site in early 2024.

“People in Salford are desperate for high-quality affordable homes. Making them to Passivhaus standards, which are hugely energy efficient, mean that in this cost-of-living crisis people who are already struggling can save huge amounts on their energy bills.

As a business and as a partnership, we have both a responsibility and an opportunity to create future-proofed places that respond to the climate and cost of living crises.
Salford City Mayor Paul Dennett

The English Cities Fund

The English Cities Fund (ECF) is the joint venture with the government’s housing and regeneration agency, Homes England and Legal & General, one of the UK’s leading financial services groups and major global investor. The partnership was set up in 2001, to bring together the best of the public and private sector, to transform urban areas and create exceptional new places.

Talk to the team
Headshot of Alison Haigh. A smiling woman with short brown hair.
Associate

Alison Haigh

Headshot of Heather Mason. A smiling woman with long brown hair.
Senior Architect

Heather Mason

Street view. Large church with spire on the left hand side. Opposite is a large residential block called Greenhaus

A passion for Passivhaus

Buttress' Alison Haigh a Passivhaus certified consultant, and Leeds studio lead, James Lewis outline the benefits and challenges of designing Passivhaus residential schemes.