News release

A site in Peterborough has today moved a step closer to becoming the country’s second zero carbon community in English Partnerships’ Carbon Challenge (Tuesday 2 October 2007).  House builders have been invited by the national regeneration agency English Partnerships, the East of England Development Agency and Peterborough City Council to express interest in developing 450 environmentally sustainable homes at South Bank Phase 1 (Glebe Road).  This is the first step in the competition process that will end in spring 2008 with the appointment of a preferred developer for the site.

Expressions of interest will be given in the form of a Pre-Qualifying Questionnaire (PQQ), published alongside a Memorandum of Information. This gives site specific details, designed to establish organisational capacity to meet the requirements of the Carbon Challenge by reducing carbon emissions and incorporating features to reduce water usage and energy consumption, as well as minimise waste.

South Bank Phase 1 - a 7 ha area of brownfield land, owned by the three public sector bodies - has been identified as the second site in the country to be suitable for development under English Partnerships’ Carbon Challenge, after a 150-home site in Bristol. 

The site is part of the regeneration of the South Bank of the River Nene in Peterborough, which in turn is part of an overall billion-pound transformation of the city being led by urban regeneration company Opportunity Peterborough.

The Challenge is an opportunity for developers to gain experience of building to the highest level of the government's Code for Sustainable Homes, well before this zero carbon standard becomes mandatory in 2016. It calls on developers to demonstrate that zero carbon homes, combined with cutting edge building design and technology, are economically viable on a commercial scale. 

Jayne Lomas, English Partnerships' Carbon Challenge manager said: "To date, only single prototype homes have been built to these standards.   No major housing schemes in this country have been able to achieve anything near the performance required in the Carbon Challenge competition.  For all those who want to get ahead of the game, this site is a golden opportunity to gain experience and a competitive edge."

Peterborough City Council Leader Councillor John Peach said: “This is an exciting milestone in the Carbon Challenge proposals and we look forward to receiving submissions from developers.

“The Glebe Road carbon challenge community is significant for Peterborough in several ways. It will provide an important impetus for proposals for the redevelopment of the wider South Bank area and the scheme will contribute to Peterborough’s aspirations to become the UK’s Environment Capital for sustainable living and technological excellence.

“I hope the technologies incorporated into these carbon challenge homes are quickly adopted by all residential developers and especially those that are responsible for new house-building schemes in Peterborough.”

South Bank Phase 1 PQQ asks bidders to demonstrate the skills and competence needed to meet the requirements of the Carbon Challenge - including reaching Level 6 of the new Code for Sustainable Homes.  This initial stage asks for evidence that the firms have the right team to build homes that respond to the climate change agenda by reducing carbon emissions and incorporating features to reduce water usage and energy consumption, as well as minimising waste and encouraging more environmentally sensitive lifestyles by residents. Increasing biodiversity and including greenery will also be a key requirement. 

The chosen developer will need to work closely with Opportunity Peterborough and its public sector partners to ensure that the site integrates with the master plan for the complete South Bank which is currently being drawn up.

English Partnerships will ensure that all homes are well built, well designed, of the best quality and are available to the widest cross section of the community as possible.   The government has made it clear that all new homes will need to be zero carbon from 2016 and through the Carbon Challenge, South Bank Phase 1 will be leading the way.

Around six developers are expected to be short listed who will then be invited to submit a more substantive bid in response to a detailed design brief for the site.

1. Copies of the South Bank Phase 1 (Glebe Road) Pre-Qualifying Questionnaire and Memorandum of Information will be available from the Procurement page on the English Partnerships website.

2. Zero carbon means no net carbon emissions from all energy uses in the home, so the amount of energy taken from the national grid is less than or equal to the amount put back through renewable technologies.

3. South Bank Phase 1 is one of two sites identified as being suitable for zero carbon development. South Bank Phase 1 is 7 ha in total and is expected to support 450 homes.  English Partnerships owns 1.7 ha and Peterborough City Council and the East of England Development Agency own the remaining land. The second site Hanham Hall is a 6.1 ha former hospital site near Bristol, including a Grade II listed building.  It is anticipated that the developable area of the site will support 150 homes, one third of which will be affordable, as well as 400 sq m of retail floor space and nearly 2000 sq m of employment space.

4. English Partnerships is the government’s national regeneration agency delivering high quality, sustainable growth in England. We do this by developing our portfolio of strategic projects and acting as the government’s advisor on brownfield land. We also ensure that surplus public sector assets are used to support wider government objectives, especially those contained in the Sustainable Communities Plan. English Partnerships helps create communities where people can afford to live and want to live.
English Partnerships and the Housing Corporation are working with the Department for Communities and Local Government to establish the proposed Homes and Communities Agency.

5. Opportunity Peterborough was established as an urban regeneration company to bring a private sector approach to the development of the city. A majority of the directors on its board therefore come from commerce and industry. Its directors also include senior level representatives from its founding partners – Peterborough City Council, the East of England Development Agency and English Partnerships.