New tenants move into Tawd Valley Developments' sustainable homes

• Four new eco-friendly homes are 'future homes standard'
• Homes are part of larger Skelmersdale scheme
• Buildings to be monitored to inform future developments

Tawd Valley Development and West Lancashire Borough Council are delighted to announce that four new low-carbon homes available for affordable rent have just welcomed their new tenants.

The four, two and three bedroomed dwellings at Fairlie, Skelmersdale form part of Tawd Valley Developments’ scheme that will provide 50 new high-quality affordable homes ranging from bungalows and apartments to three-bedroom houses.

The scheme, which has recently been shortlisted for a national affordable housing award, also boasts 13 new homes now occupied by residents on an affordable rent to buy basis - another first for TVD and West Lancashire Borough Council following their successful completion and occupation earlier this year.

Designed by John McCall Architects and built by Whitfield and Brown Developments, the four low-carbon homes have been constructed to Future Homes Standard with a low-carbon specification that includes enhanced insulation, triple-glazing, underfloor heating and air-source heat pumps. 

The four homes will be monitored for 12 months in terms of their energy usage, then the data will be compared against other new homes of the exact same size and layout built to current building regulations on the Fairlie development in Skelmersdale.

All of Tawd Valley Developments’ housing schemes are built using Modern Method of Construction, which utilise timber frame, A-rated double-glazing and gas boilers, as well as electric car charging points as standard.

The future homes standard scheme at Fairlie will now be extended to the proposed delivery of six new homes on the Egerton scheme in Skelmersdale. Subject to planning approval, the Egerton scheme will see the new homes constructed using Structural Insulated Panel System (SIPS). This modern method of construction achieves high levels of energy efficiency to ensure energy bills are kept low for future tenants.

Councillor Nicola Pryce-Roberts, portfolio holder for Housing and Landlord Services, said: "It has always been the Council's and TVD's ambition, to not only deliver new, quality homes for our residents, but to look to innovate and be at the forefront of what sustainable council home schemes should be.

"I'm very proud that we are at a stage where our new homes are delivering this vision and we'll continue to explore the possibilities as technology and building methods move on."

Tawd Valley Developments is at the forefront of low-carbon homes exploration, initiating a Lancashire-wide Low-Carbon Homes event in 2021, which involved more than 80 organisations from across the public and private sectors. It is committed to the delivery of modern methods of construction and lower carbon developments across each of its schemes for the benefit of residents and businesses in West Lancashire.