Benchmark Study on Green Buildings - Royal Architectural Institute ...

themselves to be living somewhere special. Energy and water consumption levels of the
development are also way below UK averages. Overall, the project has enabled residents
to live a sustainable lifestyle without making severe demands on daily routines. Although
it has no plans to develop further eco-schemes on the same scale as BedZED, the
Peabody Trust remains committed to sustainability in its social housing projects. With
good reason, the BedZED development has received widespread acclaim in the media,
and to date has won 10 building excellence and industry best practice awards. More
information about the Beddington Zero Energy Development and its awards can be found
on its website http://www.peabody.org.uk/pages/GetPage.aspx?id=179.
English Partnerships & Millennium Communities:
English Partnerships is an English national agency aiming to create high-quality, welldesigned,
sustainable places for people to live, work and enjoy. It does this through
development projects that increase the amount of sustainable buildings, reduce the
amount of abandoned and run-down buildings, and that make the best use of England’s
scare supply of land. English Partnerships was asked by the English Government in 1997
to establish a series of Millennium Communities to demonstrate the value of mixed-use
and sustainable development as a model for communities across England, encourage
innovation in building technologies, and help promote sustainable development that
addresses energy, resource, and construction issues. There are currently 7 Millennium
Communities being developed: Greenwich in London; Allerton Bywater near Leeds;
New Islington in Manchester (formerly the Cardroom Estate); South Lynn in King’s
Lynn; Telford; Oakgrove in Milton Keynes; and Hastings. The Greenwich Millennium
Community was the first of such communities, and English Partnerships has invested
over £200 million in acquiring, reclaiming and developing the 300 acre site. Additionally,
a state-of-the art integrated school and health centre funded by English Partnerships was
opened in the community in 2001. As of January 2006, approximately 700 homes had
been built and occupied in the community, with some residents moving in as early as
December 2000. Based on the early success of the Greenwich Millennium Community,
planning permission has recently been sought to increase the development from 1,277
homes to about 2,950. It is very likely that this proposal will go through and if it does,
200 more homes will be built in 2006, with the project due for completion in 2012. The
Greenwich Millennium Community has won more than 30 awards for excellence so far,
and with the community only about half way completed, this tally is expected to grow.
For more information on the Millennium Communities Program, or about any of the 7
communities currently under construction, visit the English Partnerships – Millennium
Communities website at http://www.englishpartnerships.co.uk/millcomms.htm.
English Partnerships has also recognized that many town centres need to be revitalized
through regeneration programs that will create better places for people to live and work.
Along with their partners, they are helping to fund the Town Centre Regeneration
Program, which will offer advice and support on design and funding programs that will
deliver benefits such as higher quality and more modern shopping facilities, new public
space, town-centre housing, enhanced public transport and a better planned and designed
environment. Revitalizing town and city centres is a vital component in supporting
government plans to build more new, sustainable and affordable homes across the
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