Kingdom Housing Association welcomed Scottish Labour Spokesperson on Housing & Local Government, Mark Griffin MSP, representatives from the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA), and Kingdom Housing Association Board Members to its largest sustainable housing development to date.

The £6.9 million development at Balgove Road in Gauldry will provide 30 new homes for social rent, all built to Passivhaus and Net-Zero Carbon standards.

The Passivhaus Standard is internationally recognised and focuses on 5 key principles; high-quality insulation, heat control and high-performing windows, airtight construction, heat recovery ventilation, and thermal bridge free design. The resulting homes are highly energy-efficient and will achieve an energy rating of 102 which exceeds the 'A' rated Energy Performance Certificate banding.

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Mr Griffin said: "Kingdom is making fantastic progress at Balgove Road to deliver Passivhaus homes for rent to social tenants, and shows the excellent work the association is delivering for Fife. Warmer, airtight homes that cost less to heat are vital to tackle Scotland’s fuel poverty crisis and our climate emergency so this is exactly the innovation we need to see in the years ahead. Now the government has agreed to deliver an equivalent ‘Scottish Standard’, first proposed by my colleague Alex Rowley, I hope Kingdom can be at the forefront of these changes to new build standards."

The development at Balgove Road in Gauldry features a diverse housing mix including family homes, cottage flats as well as amenity bungalows. Solar panels, superfast broadband, and public electric vehicle charging points will be provided and a range of community benefits will be delivered throughout the construction phase including training opportunities and job creation.

Bill Banks, Group Chief Executive at Kingdom said: "I am very impressed by the specification of the new homes being built by Campion Homes for Kingdom in Gauldry. In 2010 Kingdom was the first housing association in the UK to achieve Passivhaus accreditation with a property for social rent and now work is well underway on our most environmentally friendly development to date."

The total project cost is £6.9 million with funding of £3.9 million provided by the Scottish Government and a contribution of £74,726 provided by Scottish Water.