Work has begun on Willohaus, a second affordable Passivhaus housing scheme in Salford, bringing 100 high quality, sustainable one and two-bedroomed homes to the city.
Designed for ECF – a joint venture with Legal & General and Homes England – and Salford housing association, Salix Homes, the development will be as environmentally friendly as possible to help residents reduce their fuel bills.
Its design – incorporating Juliette balconies to create a connection between internal and outside areas, and storage for 100 bikes – will also help foster a sustainable, cohesive, and vibrant community that encourages interaction and togetherness.
Willohaus, is the second collection of sustainable, affordable apartments we have developed for ECF and Salix Homes following the completion of Greenhaus on Chapel Street.
The developments both form part of the wider £2.5bn Crescent Salford regeneration, which is a partnership between ECF, Salford City Council and the University of Salford.
Speaking about the commencement of works at Willohaus, Joe Stockton, Senior Development Manager, said:
"We’re pleased to be continuing our partnership with Salix Homes, following our success delivering low-energy, Passivhaus-standard homes at nearby Greenhaus. What has previously been done on a relatively small-scale, we are now looking to upscale, making sustainable homes accessible and affordable for a wider range of customers. We’re looking forward to working with our partners to create a vibrant, well-connected neighbourhood at Crescent Salford, starting with our Willohaus community.”
Salford housing association Salix Homes, which owns 8,000 homes across Salford, is the housing partner for Willohaus, working alongside ECF. The landlord secured grant funding from Homes England and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), alongside its own investment, with the new homes forming part of Salix Homes’ wider ambitions to deliver more affordable and sustainable accomodation across Salford.
Liam Turner, Executive Director of Assets, Growth and Sustainability at Salix Homes, said:
“Following on from the Greenhaus development, we’ve established a solid partnership with ECF to build more affordable homes in Salford that are high quality, cleaner and greener.
“Passivhaus is the gold standard for energy efficient buildings and construction, so we’re incredibly proud to be part of another ground-breaking development that will deliver desperately needed new and affordable homes in Salford which are better for the environment, support our carbon neutral ambitions, and help reduce fuel poverty for residents.
“Both Greenhaus and Willohaus represent a new era of new-build, affordable, and eco-friendly homes that are fit-for-the-future and contribute towards the battle against climate change, while helping to tackle the housing crisis.”
Alison Haigh, Associate at Buttress, said: "In designing Willohaus we have sought to apply the same rigorous building standards as we acheived on Greenhaus to bring forward attractive, affordable homes that balance energy efficiency and comfort. The additon of Willohaus will continue ongoing and successful development of Chapel Street and we look forward to working with ECF, Salix and contractors, Eric Wright, once again to deliver these homes."
