Newham: MP officially opens L&Q’s groundbreaking green development

On Tuesday 6th of December, Stephen Timms MP for East Ham, attended the official opening of a ground-breaking new development called Oberon Court at Plashet Grove in East Ham.

L&Q’s Oberon Court has been built to Code for Sustainable Homes Level 5, making it one of the capital’s most energy conscious housing developments yet.

The £11million development provides 42 one, two and three bedroom new homes, and has already proved popular with house hunters. As well as outright sale apartments, the development includes homes aimed at first-time buyers available to purchase through shared ownership. There are also a number of homes available for local people to rent.

The homes are thermally efficient, requiring less heating; while the water recycling system means residents could save money on water charges. The development also includes solar panels which provide electricity for communal areas, therefore reducing service charges.

Oberon Court’s excellent sustainable features include:

Heating

• Each home is fitted with a ‘gas-save’ unit which sits neatly between the boiler and flue. The unit recycles the heat from the flue gases which would normally be expelled into the atmosphere and wasted. The recovered heat is then used to pre-heat the cold water entering the boiler allowing greater boiler efficiency.
• To lower the demand for heating, the building is super insulated with a high level of air tightness, which provides thermal mass maintaining warmth in winter but remaining cool in summer.
• All windows are triple glazed for superior thermal and sound insulation.
• Each home with a shower cubical contains a Hot Water Heat Recovery unit underneath the shower tray. This unit recovers heat from draining waste water and uses the recovered heat to pre-heat the cold water running into the shower
• A Heat Recovery Ventilation system, present in each home, supplies fresh air to the living room and bedrooms while extracting moist air from the kitchen and bathrooms. Heat is extracted from the exhausted air and is subsequently used to pre-heat the incoming fresh air, allowing the home to be well- ventilated while requiring less heating.

Renewable Technology

• To utilise natural power the scheme incorporates an array of photovoltaic panels on the entire roof of the scheme in order to generate electricity from a clean and renewable source.

Lighting

• Each home is fitted with energy saving light fittings and bulbs.
• The majority of homes contain full height windows that allow large amounts of daylight to enter the home, providing an airy feel inside reducing the need to use lighting during the day.

Water

• Each home contains an EcoPlay system that collects and cleans greywater from the bath and shower. The cleaned greywater is then used for toilet flushing allowing homes to benefit from lower mains water consumption.

Speaking at the launch, Stephen Timms MP said “I have been impressed to see the sustainable features of these new homes in action, and to speak to residents who have already moved in and are benefiting from them. During these difficult economic times, new technologies and building innovation are very important for reducing fuel bills and improving the way we use energy. It is also great to hear that these shared ownership homes have proved so popular. Many people are struggling to obtain a mortgage; this is a great way for them to access a home of their own.“

The development has already proved very popular with house-hunters, with the shared ownership homes now all under offer. A number of fantastic one, two and three bedroom properties are still available for outright sale.

Cathy Lloyd, Head of Sales at L&Q, said “Oberon Court is a stunning new development in an excellent location, offering easy access to central London.

“With excellent transport links, a stunning design, outdoor spaces and high quality homes this development is sure to prove very popular with house-hunters. The shared ownership option, which is now all under offer, gives a helping hand to those seeking to get onto the housing ladder in London. This development will give residents the peace mind to know their new homes are not only good for the environment, but they are cheaper to run due to the fantastic eco-friendly and sustainable features included.”

Prices for outright sale homes start from £159,000 for one bedroom properties and are attracting a lot of interest. More information is available at www.oberoncourt.co.uk or by contacting L&Q sales on 0844 406 9800.

Gavin Redfern, Partner at Oberon Court architects Stock Woolstencroft said, “We were delighted to be appointed as architects from the inception of this scheme, working to achieve a successful planning consent in 2007 and then going on to deliver the working drawing programme. With the support of the development team our involvement throughout the life of the project has ensured that the intended high quality of the development has been delivered. Working with both L&Q and Hill Partnerships to provide much needed affordable and eco-friendly homes for local people has been a pleasure and we believe that the end result speaks for itself.”