ECF: Work begins on affordable eco-apartments in Salford
Work has begun on 100 high quality, affordable, sustainable, one and two-bedroomed Passivhaus homes, on Peru Street in the heart of Salford. Willohaus, which was granted planning permission by Salford City Council last summer, forms part of the £2.5bn Crescent Salford regeneration, which is a partnership between Salford City Council, the University of Salford and ECF (formerly The English Cities Fund).
The apartments, being built on a disused car park, are being delivered by ECF , a public-private partnership between three of the UK’s leading regeneration and investment organisations, Homes England, Legal & General and Muse. The partnership was set up in 2001, to bring together the best of the public and private sector, to transform urban areas and create exceptional new places.
Salford housing association Salix Homes, which owns 8,000 homes across Salford, is the housing partner for Willohaus, working alongside ECF. The landlord secured grant funding from Homes England and Greater Manchester Combined Authority, alongside its own investment, with the new homes forming part of Salix Homes’ wider ambitions to deliver more affordable and sustainable accommodation across Salford.
Designed to provide a comfortable environment for residents, Passivhaus buildings can reduce energy bills by up to 90% compared to traditional housing stock, helping residents to reduce their fuel bills while cutting carbon footprints. This is achieved through a whole-building approach to efficient, high-quality construction, which is independently tested and verified.
Willohaus will be the second collection of sustainable, affordable apartments that ECF has brought forward with Salix Homes following the success of Greenhaus – another pioneering Passivhaus certified development in Salford which completed last month (March 2024) and delivered 96 affordable homes. Both projects have been designed by renowned architects, Buttress.
Read the full press release and find out more about ECF here.