| • BioRegional
Quintain Limited formed – first such partnership of its type
• Partnership aimed at turning concepts of sustainable living
into financial reality
• BQL to lead the development of new housing concepts across
the UK
• Profits shared with BioRegional Development Group (BDG),
enabling the Charity to invest further
• Pooran Desai OBE steps down as Co-Director of BDG to become
Sustainability Director of BioRegional Quintain, he will continue
to work part-time for the charity.
Sue Riddlestone becomes sole Director of BDG.
BioRegional Development Group
has announced the formation of a new 50:50 joint venture partnership
between BioRegional Properties and Quintain Estates and Development
PLC1 called BioRegional Quintain Limited.
BioRegional Properties Ltd is
part owned by BioRegional Development Group one of the UK’s
foremost environmental organisations. Among other projects, BioRegional
was the initiator of the BedZED development in south London –
the UK’s largest ‘eco-village’ – and more
recently worked with WWF to produce the sustainability plan for
London’s successful bid for the 2012 Olympics.
Together with Quintain, one the
UK’s principal developers and who are leading the regeneration
of Wembley and (with partners Lend Lease) the Greenwich Peninsula,
BioRegional Quintain Ltd will lead the market in the creation of
sustainable community development.
BioRegional Quintain Ltd will
look beyond current industry standards to enable residents to benefits
from a ‘green lifestyle’ – providing enhanced
health, happiness and reduced household expenditure. The company
will also explore the extensive use of e-marketing and lead the
creation of a ‘multi-skilled’ construction system to
raise productivity and reduce the costs of sustainable construction.
Sue Riddlestone, Director of BioRegional
Development Group said:
“It is a real success story
for BioRegional that our ten years of experience in sustainable
communities is being carried forward through this powerful new alliance.
BioRegional Quintain has the potential to make big changes in the
property market.
Pooran has now stepped down to
work on a part time basis for both the charity and BioRegional Quintain,
so I will be taking over as sole Director at the charity. As co-founders
Pooran and I have worked together for fourteen years and he has
done a great job at BioRegional. I am pleased that he will continue
to develop our work both at the charity and at the new company.
For myself, I am looking forward
to taking the lead at the charity and continuing to do what we do
best at BioRegional, showing in a practical way that a sustainable
future is not only possible, but attractive and affordable too"
Pooran Desai OBE, Sustainability Director for BioRegional Quintain,
said:
“If everybody lived as we
do today in the UK, we would need three planets to support us. BioRegional
Quintain will lead the way in showing how we can make it easy, attractive
and affordable to live a truly sustainable lifestyle.
“We want to lead the industry
in providing high standards of sustainability, design excellence
and enabling and supporting more community based living. We firmly
believe the UK deserves – and is ready for – a progressive
and enlightened approach to development. Our work in the UK will
be complemented by work internationally as part of BioRegional’s
joint international One Planet Living4 initiative in partnership
with WWF.”
“We can make sustainability
affordable and deliverable and we are thrilled with this tie-up
with Quintain. There is no other developer of significant scale
in the UK taking this holistic, sustainable lifestyle approach.”
Nick Shattock, Director of Quintain,
said:
“This important new joint
venture is a recognition that delivering genuine sustainability
goes beyond the physical aspects of new development and the technical
solutions required by planning and building regulations. Rather,
the use of a site and the lifestyle of its occupants are the critical
factors.
“BioRegional Quintain Limited
will lead the development of selected housing sites, and help advise
across the portfolio. We expect to generate a test-bed of ideas
and to refine and accredit various physical and technical standards
so that we can sort those initiatives which offer real payback from
those which verge on the totemic.
“The agenda is changing.
Led by ODPM and the Mayor of London, the least damaging approach
is no longer good enough – instead the industry will need
to get into positive territory. Coupled with Quintain’s clear
commitment to mixed and balanced communities, this venture with
BioRegional will set new standards for our new communities.”
BQL will create sustainability plans for each of its developments
based on the 10 principles to create “One Planet Living”
communities developed by BioRegional in partnership with WWF. These
principles are:
• Zero Carbon
• Zero Waste
• Sustainable Transport
• Local and Sustainable Materials
• Local and Sustainable Food
• Sustainable Water
• Natural Habitats and Wildlife
• Culture and Heritage
• Equity and Fair Trade
• Health and Happiness
Environmental priorities
will inform BQL’s strategy. Around 23% of a household’s
carbon footprint arises from its food choices – a staggering
statistic in view of the car and air mileage which the average household
undertakes – meaning the BQL will consider sustainable food
provision as an integral part of its development process.
Examples of the tools which will be utilised by BQL include:
• Enabling residents to
source local and organic food through twinning developments with
local farms and food providers and facilitate this process through
a community extranet.
• Providing ‘serviced allotments’ for residents
to grow their own food, with maintenance taken care of if necessary.
• Creating highly energy efficient buildings and source energy
for home heating, hot water and electrical uses through a combination
of on-site and off-site renewable energy. Such centralised renewable
energy systems will be part owned by the residents and will provide
savings in comparison with high street utility providers.
• Construction from natural materials together with the use
of Scandinavian style fresh air recirculation systems to deliver
high levels of indoor air quality in the home.
• Establishing ‘car clubs’ managed by third party
providers to reduce the need for car ownership.
• Promoting recycling through the use of communal composting
and by providing segregated bins and estate wide green facilities
management.
• Establishing where appropriate ‘community trusts’
with residents to enable good governance and the maintenance of
high standards of sustainability.
Notes:
1.Quintain
Estates and Development PLC is a leading property investment and
development company specialising in strategic property acquisition,
redevelopment and asset management across the UK
BioRegional Quintain Limited is
already working on one development with Crest Nicholson at the Brighton
Station site and is also short listed for the redevelopment of the
former Odeon site in central Bradford and, as part of the Placemakers
Consortium with Barclays Regeneration, to build 600 homes in Middlehaven.
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