St Mary’s homing in on another accolade

OLDHAM’S ground-breaking St Mary’s housing development has been nominated for one of Britain’s most prestigious sustainability awards.

The £14.8 million estate is one of only three UK projects shortlisted for the Guardian newspaper’s Sustainable Business awards.

The development, built by national housing and regeneration specialist Keepmoat, has 93 homes which slash residents’ energy bills thanks to their energy efficient construction.

Two of the homes are the first in the region built to world-class “Passivhaus” standard, which allows residents to spend little more than £20 a year on heating bills.

Nigel Banks, group sustainability director at Keepmoat, said: “The results at St Mary’s are really impressive. Not only has it enabled residents to comfortably afford to heat their home, but it has also shown that you can transform a community with high-quality housing.

The estate has already won the Royal Town Planning Institute North-West Planning Achievement award.