Unveiled – The carbon-free homes of the future coming to York

Images of how City of York Council’s first zero carbon housing developments could look have been unveiled.

Six hundred new homes meeting energy efficient building standards are set to be built at eight sites across the city under the council’s housing delivery programmes.

And planning applications for the first two sites – at the former Duncombe Barracks and former Burnholme College – are set to be submitted imminently.

Architect firm Mikhail Riches, which the council has appointed to work on the project, have revealed some of the artist’s impressions of how the scheme could look.

Cllr Denise Craghill said the proposals build on the city’s heritage of innovation in housebuilding.

She said: “Combining very high energy efficiency and sustainability standards with very high quality homes is important.

“We will focus on those values for residents and help to set a standard [for other developments].”

Energy efficient

The new council homes will be energy efficient in order to dramatically cut bills for new residents.

And 60 per cent of the houses will be for sale on the housing market to provide funding to make the other 40 per cent affordable homes.

Cllr Craghill said: “The houses and buildings will be built to passivhaus levels. That brings us as close as the buildings can possibly be to zero carbon.

“To get to zero carbon you have to do other things – it doesn’t get us all the way there because emissions don’t just come from heating homes.

“They come from how people use appliances, computer and IT equipment, water heating, transport and other things.

“We have to minimise car use as much as possible and there will be a lot of solar panels on the roofs to help bring it to zero carbon.

“We have talked quite a lot about cargo bikes and larger bikes such as the child trailer bikes you see quite often in York. We’re looking to make sure the design of the development is suitable for that.

“We have to take transport into account. We want to promote cycling and walking as much as possible.”