Our performance

Our mission is to be the market leader in the design and delivery of sustainable housing. Over the last 12 months we have made significant progress in raising the sustainability standards of our developments through the application of new technologies and skills.

Delivery in 2008

During 2008, 52% (1,556 units) of all homes were built to EcoHomes standards, a major increase from the 3% (94 units) in 2007. Of these 1,556 homes,79% were rated EcoHomes Very Good or Excellent with an average SAP rating of 83 and an average 8% improvement in carbon reduction over the current building regulation standards.

Delivering low carbon homes

We increased the energy efficiency of our homes as demonstrated by an average SAP energy rating of 81, exceeding our target of 80. The SAP calculation indicates how the home will perform in terms of carbon emissions, setting a Target Emission Rate (TER) which represents the minimum for regulatory compliance, against which actual performance is measured by the Dwelling Emission Rate (DER). Even our standard dwellings exceeded the Target Emission Rate by an average of 5%.

Also in 2008 we built our first homes incorporating renewable energy, pioneering new technology on 26 new homes across five developments.

A significant achievement in the year was the delivery of our first Code for Sustainable Homes units, well in advance of the government timetable, completing 20 homes to Code level 3 at Centre Square in Epsom, Vista in Ipswich and Liberty Park Wainscott. These homes achieved on average a 33% improvement in carbon reduction over the current building regulations.

In 2008 92% of all completed units were provided with recycling facilities, dwellings on several developments featured composting facilities, and over one third had 50% and above dedicated energy efficient lighting, thus reducing overall energy demand and running costs. In addition, half of all units constructed in 2008 have access to cycle storage.

Homes submitted for planning in the year

At the end of the financial year 4,944 units had been submitted for planning, 82% of which are specified to Code for Sustainable Homes or EcoHomes standards. 39% of units are to be built to Code level 3 (1,903 units) and 5% to the energy requirements of code level 6 at our One Gallions development in East London.

As we are now in the transition phase between EcoHomes and the Code we have seen a drop in the number of EcoHomes in planning, falling to 38%. 97% of the planned EcoHomes dwellings will be built to the highest levels: Very Good or Excellent.

The number of developments to be built with renewables is increasing, with 39% of the units currently in planning incorporating renewable energy, 91% with access to cycle storage, 89% of which will have their own individual storage, and recycling facilities will be incorporated in all new dwellings.

Crest Nicholson Standards for Planning Applications 2008

By working closely with our supply chain, we were able to enhance the standard Crest Nicholson specification for all new dwellings submitted for planning from January 2008:

• Code level 3 water use within the dwelling at 105 litres/person/day
• All developments to incorporate rainwater harvesting by providing water butts;
• Built-in recycling facilities within the kitchen units to allow segregation and storage of three separate waste streams and;
• A minimum of 75% dedicated energy efficient lighting.

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