Cardiff Council and Wates Residential have started construction on the largest development in the Cardiff Living scheme, which will deliver a total of 214 new homes.
The development has been awarded £4.1m of Welsh government Innovative Housing Programme funding.
The new homes will incorporate renewable technologies and smart energy management systems to significantly reduce the energy demand on the grid, as well as helping to tackle fuel poverty by significantly reducing energy bills.
The site will include 65 new council homes, 44 of which will be Community Living flats for older people.
A further 149 properties will be put up for sale on the open market, and it has been confirmed that both council and sale housing will be built to the same energy performance standards.
Addison House
The Community Living scheme, Addison House, is set to be a state-of-the-art building designed to meet the needs of older people.
The scheme is also set to be the first of four new similar facilities to be built across the city as part of Cardiff Council’s Older Person’s Strategy.
The facility will consist of one- and two-bedroom flats, comprising open-plan living, private balconies, and dual-aspect design.
The building will also feature two residents’ lounges, a roof terrace overlooking the Bristol Channel, as well as a large communal courtyard garden.
Ed Rees, regional director for Wates Residential, said: “These new homes have been designed with local people in mind and offer an exemplar for high quality, sustainable living that will lead the way in the implementation of energy-efficient housing for Wales.
“We believe that everyone deserves a great place to live and, by harnessing innovative construction methods and carbon saving technologies that learn from people’s energy use habits to reduce energy bills, we hope that these new homes will continue to bring positive benefits to the local community for many generations to come.”
Cardiff Council and Wates Residential are working with Cardiff-based sustainable energy services company Sero to incorporate low-carbon technologies into the development of the new homes.
Technologies incorporated into the homes include ground source heat pumps, smart thermal storage, electric vehicle charging points, solar panels, and smart controls.
Sero will provide a grid energy control network that it says will intelligently draw, discharge, and anticipate energy demands, almost completely avoiding the National Grid at peak times.
Work is due to be completed in phases over the next three years.
Image: Artist’s impression of what part of the Cardiff Living development will look like when completed
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