HOUSING MINISTER VISITS NEW SUSTAINABLE COUNCIL HOUSE SITE IN MOTHERWELL

Housing Minister, Paul McLennan, visited a new council house site in Motherwell to see and hear first-hand about the innovative features being delivered to help reduce carbon emissions and meet the country’s ambitious net zero targets.

Designed by Coltart Earley, Brandon Street is located in Motherwell’s busy town centre and is presently being constructed by CCG on behalf of North Lanarkshire Council comprising a mix of new build construction and the conversion of a former YMCA building to deliver 48 new homes.

The Minister met with council staff and members of the CCG team to commemorate Scotland Climate Week (25/09/23 – 01/10/23) and discussed the innovative technologies that will help achieve operational net zero carbon.

Alongside the use of CCG’s advanced build methods which will inherently improve thermal performance and lower the in-use energy demand of future tenants, the new build homes will also utilise a zero-direct emissions, communal ground source heat pump system (shared loop) that forms part of a wider renewables strategy that includes solar PV panel provision developed with energy and sustainability partners, Carbon Futures.

Housing Minister Paul McLennan said:

“I was very pleased to visit North Lanarkshire Council’s development at Brandon Street, Motherwell as part of Scotland’s Climate Week.

“With 22% of emissions coming from our homes and workplaces, there is a real challenge to meet our net zero ambition by 2045. Supported by more than £4 million of Scottish Government funding, the Brandon Street development homes include a communal ground source heat pump system delivering zero emission heating to well-insulated, new build homes.

“From December, new homes funded through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme will have zero emission heating as a requirement. I look forward to seeing more homes with zero emission heating sources in developments across Scotland.”

Convener of Housing, Councillor Michael McPake, added:

“Sustainability is at the heart of our new council house building programme. We’re including features which don’t present additional carbon to the environment, maximise energy efficiency and the use of renewable technology.

“We’ve all seen the impact of climate change and in response to the climate emergency, the council set a net zero target for 2030. We are taking significant steps towards this by aligning our housebuilding strategy with construction methods and technology, ensuring we can meet these ambitious targets as well as sustaining housing demand and have already delivered our first new zero homes.”

Brandon Street is set for completion next summer. The project is costing £11M with grant funding of £4.158M from the Scottish Government, which includes additional funding from Scotland’s Heat Network Fund in part support of the heating delivered in these homes.

David Wylie, Managing Director of CCG, added:

“CCG has worked in partnership with North Lanarkshire Council since 2018. Since then, we have maintained the delivery of high-quality, affordable homes, and transformed communities, and now, we proudly support their transition to net zero. Brandon Street is one of two developments currently on-site that is utilising an innovative mix of enhanced building standards and zero-emissions heating systems; the Council has embraced new building methods and technologies and we are delighted to play our part in shaping the future of housebuilding here in Motherwell and across the local authority.”