Nearly 90 Zero Carbon Homes Have Been Approved In York
Led by the City of York Council, plans for 85 zero carbon homes in York have been approved by a City of York planning committee. Housing Industry Leaders looks at how the Ordnance Lane project will help achieve a sense of community.

Built to certified Passivhaus standards, the homes in the Ordnance Lane project in York will have net zero carbon emissions in operation, with energy generated by renewables on site.

The project, led by the City of the York Council, architecture firm Mikhail Riches, and planning consultants Tibbalds Planning and Urban Design, forms part of the local authority’s 600-home housing delivery plan.

It will see a minimum of 40 per cent affordable homes, with 20 per cent of the homes to be let at social rent and 20 per cent to be for shared ownership. The remaining homes will be for market sale.

Across the site, 10 per cent of the homes are to be fully wheelchair adaptable, as the site is said to have a focus on providing multi-generational housing to create an inclusive, sustainable, and resilient community.

A Low Carbon Lifestyle For Residents Must Be Promoted

The plan is said to be committing to improving the health of current and future residents and promoting a low carbon lifestyle.

To promote this lifestyle, the council has said that the site has been designed in collaboration with residents and will have good links to the surrounding area, providing pedestrian and cycle access, therefore, is ensuring that the new homes are easily navigable without the need for vehicles.

Executive Member for Housing and Safer Neighbourhoods at the City of York Council, Denise Craghill, said: “We’re starting work on the first Passivhaus homes this summer, which are designed to meet the challenges of climate change while creating beautiful, versatile living spaces set in green open space.”

A Sociable Neighbourhood Will Be Achieved Through Communal Spaces

Ranging in size from one to five bedrooms, the housing project will also include communal space for residents, an urban orchard, a natural play area, communal growing beds, and both shared and private gardens.

Director at Tibbalds, Lizzie Le Mare, said: “Not only is this a scheme which will deliver housing for a wide range of households but it will enable sociable neighbourhoods with a strong sense of community as well as providing a healthy place where people want to live.”