Seven Eco-Vat rainwater harvesting systems from Polypipe have been installed in a ground breaking development in the heart of the mining community in County Durham. The Close, in Houghton-le-Spring is a series of seven detached homes on a former brownfield site, where abandoned farm building were used to store machinery. This sustainable residential scheme is the brainchild of Spring Oak Developments Ltd. a private developer at the cutting edge of sustainable housing in the North East.
Director, Bill King has a vision for the properties to defy the conventional build for this part of the country, and so incorporated the most up to date and innovative sustainable systems and features. He used timber frame for the buildings’ envelopes, Low E glass for the windows as well as solar thermal panels to minimise the need for supplementary heating systems. The Eco-Vat rainwater harvesting concept played a major role in his ambition for total eco-design.
The systems were supplied by Polypipe WMS, a dedicated team within Polypipe, the UK’s leading manufacturer of drainage and water systems. Eco-Vat provides a sustainable and long term cost effective solution to reducing the need for mains water consumption, with tanks able to store and filter rainwater for re-use.
“The Eco-Vat system will provide increased cost savings on water bills,” comments Mr King. “These homes in this part of the country are innovative and revolutionary in design and reduce the overall carbon footprint of the buildings.” As with any new concept, it took a lot of educating the local authorities and water companies on how the system would work, but once they recognised the benefits of the concept, they were keen to see it fulfilled. It was even awarded the Local Building Excellence Award for Best Small Housing Project (Small Development) by Sunderland City Council.
The showhome on the site is now complete and Spring Oak is offering buyers of the remaining homes the opportunity to customise the interior of their homes before they are finally finished, to the highest ecological and environmental standards.
Polypipe Building Products is a leading UK manufacturer of above and below ground drainage products and plastic plumbing as well as underfloor heating systems.
The Polypipe brand represents a wide range of value for money, fit for purpose products that are widely available through builders’ and plumbers’ merchants.
Polypipe Building Products manufacture above and below ground drainage products, plastic plumbing and underfloor heating systems for the residential market.
Our wide range of products is widely available through builders and plumbers merchants, with principal brands including:
• Polypipe – Above and below ground drainage products
• Polyplumb – Push fit plastic plumbing and underfloor heating
• Polyfit – Demountable push fit plastic plumbing
• Overlay – Unique low profile floor heating system
We pride ourselves on our ‘code breaking’ sustainable residential solutions that meet and exceed the requirements in the Code for Sustainable Homes, the UK’s national standard for the design and construction of sustainable new homes.
Environmental responsibility is central to our ethos and touches every part of the manufacturing process – our sustainable development encompasses pollution prevention, waste reduction and energy conservation, practices widely recognised by the numerous accolades we have been awarded. These include winner of the Environmental Responsibility Award for 2008 by the Doncaster Chamber of Commerce and accreditation to BS EN ISO 14001:2004 for our Environmental Management System (EMS).
At Polypipe Building Products we supply and manufacture to the highest possible standards and maintain a well-earned reputation for quality, innovation and exceptional customer service.