Press Release
‘ONE BRIGHTON’ WINS COVETED CROWN ESTATE SUSTAINABILITY AWARD
4 February 2010
This year’s RTPI Award for Sustainable Communities, of which The Crown Estate is a long-standing sponsor, has been conferred upon a mixed-use redevelopment of former locomotive yards in Brighton.
Judges at the Royal Institute of Town Planning Awards 2009 hailed the scheme as, “an exemplar of sustainability which will help to raise the bar,” for future developments.
On presenting the award, Nick Harper, Head of Rural Asset Management and Development at The Crown Estate, said: “As a major investor in both urban and rural communities, we believe in honouring projects that have risen to the challenge of balancing sustainability and economic viability. One Brighton is a model of how to develop sensitively with regard for quality of life now and into the future, while also protecting the environment.
“Delivering sustainable communities is much more than the physical outcome; it is about innovative plans, techniques and processes.”
Completed in summer 2009, the project is underpinned by the principle of ‘One Planet Living’. 172 new homes, 31% of which will be affordable, achieved a ‘zero-carbon’ rating through the use of energy-efficient appliances and thermally-efficient building materials. These were sourced locally where possible.
An aspiration to divert 98% of waste from landfill by 2020 is to be met by supplying space heating and hot water through an on-site communal biomass boiler. An area of roof-top mini allotments will allow residents to compost kitchen waste and promote local, seasonal and organic food.
Along with new office and community space designed to achieve BREEAM ‘excellent’ ratings, the high-density scheme forms part of the ‘New England Quarter’ of inner-city Brighton.
There are 32 projects shortlisted for this year’s RTPI Awards. The 2008 recipients of the Sustainable Communities Award were the ‘Preparation and Implementation of the Planning Scheme for the Adamstown Strategic Development Zone’ (submitted by South Dublin County Council) and Hambleton District Council’s public engagement strategy, ‘Taking Planning out of Policy and into the Community’.
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