Citu secures funding for offsite eco homes

Citu has secured funding to push ahead with the development of a Climate Innovation District in Leeds. The offsite housing developer claims that it will be the UK’s largest sustainable housing project.

Real estate finance firm Ingenious has offered a £19m loan to the project, which it said will enable development of the first 120 apartments and houses on the site on the south bank of the river Aire.

In total, Citu is planning 800 homes over four phases in the Climate Innovation District. Timber-frame homes will be built in Citu’s offsite manufacturing facility, using technology worked up in collaboration with Leeds Beckett University.

Sustainable technology deployed in the homes will include passive cooling, light wells, mechanical ventilation and heat recovery and air tightness the developer claims is 10 times that required by building regulations.

The Climate Innovation District forms part of Leeds council’s wider Aire Valley area action plan, covering 1,300 hectares adjacent to the city centre. Funder Ingenious is a member of the UK Green Building Council.

Jonathan Wilson at Citu said it was vital the firm worked with partners also committed to ethical development. He said: “This new relationship is an exciting marker in the evolution and expansion of our delivery business. It will enable Citu to grow further and double our annual outputs through the future regeneration and delivery at the Climate Innovation District.”