Sustainability Statement Document

Sustainability, renewable energy & low carbon commitment

The UK Government's ambition to move towards a greener, more sustainable, low carbon future has seen the implementation of a number of national, regional and local policies for new developments, in a bid to reduce carbon emissions and improve energy use.

Urban & Urban is similarly committed to its own social and environmental responsibilities and has embedded in its overall philosophy a number sustainability aspirations which includes the delivery of high quality, future-ready low carbon homes. Across all of our developments cutting edge technology is utilised to achieve these aspirations.

In line with our vision, we have developed an energy strategy for our Urban Picturehouse development that is focused on delivering environmentally friendly and cost effective energy to its future residents as well as seeking to minimise any harmful impacts the development will have on the longer term environment.

Through the use of a heat pump domestic water heater each apartment will benefit from highly efficient, low carbon heating and hot water which gives residents overall control of their energy consumption.

A number of energy efficient and sustainable features have also been adopted across the development, including a highly efficient building fabric incorporating high performance solar glazing and using construction techniques that improved overall air tightness, electric panel heaters and highly efficient sanitaryware, combined, these will all help to reduce the requirement for heating and heating bills while maintaining the comfort levels expected from a high quality development.

To further aid the efficiency of the apartments, low energy lighting is used throughout and all appliances that are installed will also be low energy and have at least an energy rating of A++. As a result of all the technologies that have been incorporated into the development, all of the properties have an EPC rating of B. As of December 2023, when the assessment was undertaken, the average energy cost, depending on size and type, will range from approximately £420 to £850 per annum. A copy of the EPC will be provided in the legal pack that will be issued as part of the sale process.

The development will also feature renewable energy and low carbon sources in the form of photovoltaic panels (PV's) located on the roof of the building. The electricity provided by these PV panels will be used to power the various electrical appliances such as lighting and the lifts in the common areas which will help to reduce the building's overall electricity demand, further reducing carbon emissions and at the same time reduce service charges for the residents.

The overall environmental and renewable energy strategy that has been incorporated into the development will help to achieve a 35% reduction in overall CO2 emissions. A 14% reduction has been achieved through excellent building fabric design and selection of materials and a further 47% reduction in CO2 emissions is achieved through the incorporation of renewable technologies such as the PV's and ASHP's. This significantly surpasses government requirements and achieves a 40% improvement on the 2010 Building Regulations benchmark.

In addition to the various technologies incorporated into the development to reduce CO2 emissions and reduce energy consumption, the development also has a number of sustainable credentials including the construction of a landscaped podium garden. This sustainable form of landscaping incorporates drainage which captures rain water and ensures that there is a significant reduction in the amount of rain water run-off that will discharge into the existing sewer network.

Not only does the garden improve the drainage credentials of the development, with the incorporation of a number of different types of native plant species the overall biodiversity of the site significantly improves as well.

Given the location of the development and its excellent proximity to public transport, local services and amenities, the scheme has been designed as a car free development to promote alternative, more sustainable and environmentally friendly forms of travel such as public transport or bicycle. All apartments will have access to a secure cycle store located on the ground floor of the development.

In order to reduce CO2 emissions from transport each apartment has been carefully designed to promote working from home by providing residents with the necessary space and services (data & power points) to enable a home office to be easily created thus reducing the need to commute.