Over ten years ago The Vale Housing Association became the first housing association to achieve the Environment Management System ISO 14001 standard. Since then The Vale has had a long-standing commitment to not only the environment, but also to building environmentally friendly homes.
The Vale Housing Association has a strong focus on delivering affordable housing for the local community. The Uffington development, which was completed late last year, aimed to give local people the chance to get a foot on the housing ladder. Therefore all residents had to meet certain criteria to prove they had links to the area before being allowed to buy their own home.
The Uffington development was also built under the Oxfordshire Rural Housing Partnership, which aims to improve the quality of life for people who live or work in villages in the county.
Another key feature of the Uffington development was that it was built to code level three for Sustainable Homes and used cutting edge environmental technology. This included NIBE air source heat pumps, which take heat from the surrounding air to provide heating and hot water, and Eco Play units, which recycle water from the bath and washing machine back into the toilet.
Steve Russell, Managing Director of The Vale Housing Association, noted, ”The Vale Housing Association understands that local people in rural areas need affordable housing too. Our Uffington development benefits from eco-friendly features for long term sustainability which make the homes more energy efficient.”
