Portslade residents offered new sustainable council homes

Brighton and Hove City Council have completed their most ‘sustainable housing scheme to date’ which has recently welcomed residents into 42 new council homes. 

Containing a mixture of one, two and three bedroom flats in Jay Court and Perching Court on Victoria Road, Portslade, the new homes have been designed to be light and energy efficient to help keep energy bills low and reduce carbon emissions.

A ground source heat pump has been installed to provide heating and hot water, as well as solar panels which provide electricity for lighting in communal areas of the flats and for external lighting. The homes are also well insulated to ensure rooms stay warmer for longer.

In addition, the buildings feature planed ‘living’ walls, bat boxes and bee bricks to encourage biodiversity and a landscaped communal garden for residents with fruit trees and a wildflower lawn area.  

The homes have been let to people who were on the Brighton and Hove City Council’s housing register – demand for affordable housing has skyrocketed since the cost-of-living crisis began – in a bid to house those most in need.

It is one of the largest schemes completed so far in the council’s new homes for neighbourhoods building programme, which aims to provide homes for rent on council-owned land across the city.

Against this backdrop, completion of the development means that the local authority has now delivered almost 500 additional homes in the past four years and 280 properties back to use as council rented homes since introducing a home purchase policy scheme in 2017.

Brighton and Hove City Councillor, David Gibson, Co-Chair of the Housing Committee, said: ‘Providing more council homes is a priority for us and it’s great to see these new homes finished.

‘The completion of Jay Court and Perching Court provides a big boost of 42 new homes to our programme, with residents due to move in later this month.

‘This is a ground-breaking project featuring highly energy efficient homes, designed to go further than ever towards the council’s carbon neutral targets for 2030. These include the first development with a ground source heat pump system.

‘Completion of the development means that, including homes bought back through our Home Purchase Policy, we’re on schedule to deliver almost 500 additional homes over the 4 years up to May.’

Image: Maciek Wróblewski