Plan for energy efficient prototype homes at Scarborough's Construction Skills Village is approved

Following approval from the authority’s planning committee yesterday, Keyland Developments is to build the two properties, called the Innovation Hub, at the Construction Skills Village at High Eastfield Farm, Eastfield.

The council-backed skills village is operated by Northern Regeneration, a community-interest company, which is planning a new range of green construction techniques as part of its portfolio to help meet needs within housing and construction.

The authority’s planning committee unanimously granted approval for the Innovation Hub with Cllr Phil Trumper calling it a "great, innovative step forward for the borough".

A report prepared for the councillors filled in what the purpose of the development would be.

It stated: "The applicant, Keyland, and its partner SoHoCo hope that the dwellings will allow them to demonstrate the effectiveness of their design in creating very energy efficient homes that can be used for research and training purposes, with students of the Construction Skills Village learning how to construct such buildings, and to understand how the different components need to be put together to achieve the requirements of Passivhaus accreditation."

Passivhaus buildings, the idea of which comes from the Passivhaus Institute in Germany, achieve a 75 per cent reduction in space heating requirements, compared to standard practice for a UK new build.

The Passivhaus standard is now being used to help the industry achieve the 80 per cent carbon reductions that are set as a legislative target for the UK Government.

The Construction Skills Village was created to help meet the target of 49,000 construction-related workers needed for the region by 2030 – and to provide the skilled workers required to build the 9,000 homes needed in Scarborough over the next 10 years.