A ground-breaking, environmentally friendly heating system for new homes in South Shropshire has been officially opened by Ludlow MP, Philip Dunne.
South Shropshire Housing Association proudly unveiled the new £850,000 facility at its Rocks Green development, on the outskirts of the town.
A total of 91 affordable new homes on the site will be kept warm by a wood-burning biomass boiler, which is carbon neutral and fuelled by wood chips from county-sourced timber waste.
The biomass boiler, which will provide hot water as well as central heating, is a major contributor to the aim of the new homes achieving an ‘excellent’ environmental rating, under the Eco Homes scale.
While being environmentally sound, the biomass system will also offer other benefits, such as removing the need to connect homes to the gas main supply, which also takes away the costs of annual gas appliance servicing as well as the risks of gas leaks.
All of the homes will have efficient under-floor heating which, along with the hot water supply, tenants and homeowners will be able to control according to their individual needs.
South Shropshire Housing Association is part of the Shropshire Housing Group, along with Meres and Mosses Housing Association.
Group chief executive, Martin Holland, said of the new facility: “This is a great opportunity for us to lead the way on the creation of sustainable homes. Hopefully the construction industry around us will be taking note and start looking to take a similar approach to their future developments. We will be happy to share our experiences with them.
“Rocks Green is a wonderful development and part of Shropshire Housing Group’s plan to create 500 new homes across the Shropshire and neighbouring counties in the next five years. It is our duty to do this in as environmentally responsible way as possible and we’re very pleased with this important step. For residents it’s also valuable because we can provide an annual fixed price for their heating and hot water.”
Meter readings will be carried out by another Shropshire Housing Group company, Total Response Limited, which provides maintenance and improvement services to the group’s homes, as well as to private clients.