A village in Nottinghamshire is taking a major step into the future of ecological house building with the construction of two innovative eco-estates. Constructed by Gusto Homes, the two estates; Collingham Park and Collingham Brook are at the cutting edge of green residential development. Thought to be the largest housing
Construction work has commenced on a £7 million school expansion in Great Yarmouth. A new two-storey school with room for 420 places will be built for North Denes Primary School. This forms part of a £169 million county-wide investment to create thousands of new school places in Norfolk. “We are
If your company produces hazardous waste at any point, then it is your responsibility to make sure there is a viable waste management system in place to deal with it. Failure to do so can result in damage to the environment and harm to human health. Hazardous waste can be
A village in Nottinghamshire is taking a major step into the future of ecological house building with the construction of two innovative eco-estates. Constructed by Gusto Homes, the two estates; Collingham Park and Collingham Brook are at the cutting edge of green residential development. Thought to be the largest housing development in the UK to be heated using geothermal energy, Collingham Park is a residential development with 60 retirement apartments and bungalows. Using geothermal energy from 32 boreholes reaching 120 metres underground, the technology will cut resident’s energy bills by around 75%. The adjacent site, Collingham Brook offers 45 properties including spacious three and four bedroom passive solar homes. The houses at Collingham Brook, which are triple glazed and super insulated, generate the majority of their energy from rooftop solar panels, which provide free electricity for heating and hot water. Gusto Homes has previously used their passive solar homes designs at its acclaimed Woodlands Edge development in Lincolnshire, where 29 eco-homes have been built around private woodland near Lincoln, including homes which cost just £1 per day to run. Chief Executive of Gusto Homes, Steff Wright said: “Over twenty years, Gusto Homes has been at the forefront of eco-home construction, but this is one of our most ambitious green projects to date, with an entire community benefiting from geothermal energy. “The technology we’re using to create this estate is game-changing, and it has the potential to transform the way homes are built in the future as we try to cut our emissions, reduce our impact on climate change and cut the energy costs for our homebuyers. Gusto Homes has used geothermal heat pumps in custom and self-build projects for several years, but never across an entire housing development on this scale. Using this natural, renewable energy, people living here will be able to enjoy high-quality homes with very low energy bills and a minimal carbon-footprint. “Since we started designing and building eco-homes two decades ago, we’ve been the first to use many technologies and techniques which are now used across the country; if the technology we’re using in this development becomes just as widespread in future, it would make a dramatic difference in the impact new housing has on the environment.” Collingham Park and Collingham Brook are adjacent developments in the Nottinghamshire village of Collingham near Newark. Both developments use cutting edge green innovations to deliver high quality energy-efficient homes for people who want to enjoy their leisure time in comfortable, stylish homes. Alongside housing, the developments will also include green spaces, a nursery, a gym, office space, business units, allotments and a local Men in Sheds building which older men and women can use to develop their wood-working and other practical skills. The geothermal boreholes at Collingham Park are being drilled by Nicholls Boreholes; the only firm in the UK to be fully MCS accredited for the design, drilling and installation of ground source heat pumps. Drilling Manager for Nicholls Boreholes, Tim Holland said: “While this is the largest scale project we’ve worked on, geothermal technology is surprisingly straight forward, reliable and efficient: Essentially, pipes carry very cold water deep underground, where the natural heat of the earth raises the water’s temperature. The water loops back up to the surface where a heat pump extracts the heat energy using a process that’s similar to that of a household refrigerator. For every kilowatt that it takes to power the heat pump, it produces up to four kilowatts of energy which means it can cut your heating bills to just 25% of the rate you’d normally pay. “Ground source energy is a big outlay, but it quickly covers its cost through green energy production and through the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) so all big developments should be using this technology so they can use renewable heat from the ground. While gas and other fuels won’t always be there and wind and solar energy isn’t as reliable in the UK as in other countries, the heat in the ground will always be there and it’s certainly the way we should be looking. “It’s great that Gusto Homes is using one of the most efficient renewable energy sources available in this country; they’ve committed to a good and efficient system which will provide green energy for many many years to come.” You can find out more about Gusto Homes and its Collingham Park, Collingham Brook and Woodlands Edge eco-home projects at www.gustohomes.co.uk.
Construction work has commenced on a £7 million school expansion in Great Yarmouth. A new two-storey school with room for 420 places will be built for North Denes Primary School. This forms part of a £169 million county-wide investment to create thousands of new school places in Norfolk. “We are delighted to have started work on North Denes Primary School, which will help to provide pupils with the chance to access a high level of education that will help them throughout their educational journey,” said John Stedman, framework manager at Morgan Sindall Construction in the East. “Fostering strong links with project neighbours and the wider community is incredibly important to the team, and where possible, we will be sourcing labour and materials from Great Yarmouth, helping to ensure social, economic and environmental benefits are seen by the community. “Morgan Sindall Construction has long standing expertise in building first-class educational facilities, and we look forward to furthering our long-standing collaborative relationship with Norfolk County Council and NPS.” Contractor Morgan Sindall was joined by the headteacher and pupils of the school to mark the major milestone. “I am absolutely delighted to have reached this stage. After all the planning and consultation that has gone before, it is exciting to begin to see our new school start to take shape. The children in Great Yarmouth deserve to have a state-of-the-art school in which to learn – both those here now and future generations to come. We can’t wait to move in next year and open a new chapter for education locally,” added Headteacher Debbie Whiting. The school will feature photovoltaic panels on the roof, drawing on passive environment design principals to create a naturally ventilated, energy efficient, environmentally friendly building. Classes will continue in the current school building while works on the project progress, with the team implementing processes such as traffic management systems and noise reduction during exams in order to minimise disruption to the school users and neighbours. The new school is expected to be complete in time for the 2020 academic year.
If your company produces hazardous waste at any point, then it is your responsibility to make sure there is a viable waste management system in place to deal with it. Failure to do so can result in damage to the environment and harm to human health. Hazardous waste can be liquid, solid, sludge, or even contained gases. Whatever form it takes, there is a risk that it could contaminate groundwater and surface water supplies. This in turn can present a threat to human and environmental health. As a result, the UK government has outlined strict requirements for the monitoring and managing of hazardous waste. The following guide serves to help you plan a suitable waste management system for your hazardous waste. We’ve teamed up with 8 yard skip supplier Reconomy, who are experts in managing all types of waste, to provide this overview: Types of hazardous waste The most common types of hazardous waste are: construction, demolition, industry, and agriculture. There are many different examples of hazardous waste, including but not limited to: asbestos, batteries, brake fluid, printer toner, pesticides, solvents, oils, and ozone-depleting substances (such as those found in some fridges). If your company produces or stores these types of materials, then the duty of care and responsibility for these materials falls on you. The first stage of effective hazardous waste management is to identify what the substance is. This should then be stored separately from your general waste, as well as any other types of hazardous material. Safe storage Of course, the first aim of hazardous waste management should be to reduce the amount of hazardous waste that your company produces. But for any that is unavoidable, it should be stored and labelled clearly so that anyone on-site knows what it is. To prevent contamination, waterproof covers should be used to prevent any run off. Each type of hazardous waste should be stored separately, and for liquid waste, barriers or bunds should be used to prevent leakages or spills. For the duration of these materials being stored on-site, regular checks should be carried out to ensure the containers are not damaged or leaking. Keep a classified inventory of the hazardous waste on-site as well, so that if an incident does occur, you have information available for the emergency services. Record-keeping Hazardous waste needs to be accounted for when it is collected, so your business will need to fill out a consignment note. This note needs completing before the waste is collected. A consignment note is required for: Moving hazardous waste from one site to another within the same organisation. Collecting waste produced by another business on a customer’s premises and needs moving. Collecting waste from register waste carrier businesses. A consignment is not required for: Moving domestic hazardous waste. Asbestos is exempt from this and requires a consignment note. Waste that is covered by a different movement note due to having been imported and exported under international shipment controls. Details for the consignment note To correctly fill out your consignment note, you need to accurately detail the following: A description of the waste. How much it weighs, in kilos. For liquid, use the appropriate volumes. The chemical and biological composition of the waste. The form the hazardous waste takes: solid, liquid, gas, sludge, powder, etc. With the note filled out, you then need to pay the fee. For England and Wales, the fee is £10 per collection, or £5 per collection within a milk round. For Scotland and Northern Ireland though, the fee is usually £15.
