CCG (Scotland) and West Dunbartonshire Council has announced the launch of a pioneering new housing development in Pappert, Bonhill, which will see affordable Passivhaus homes brought to West Dunbartonshire for the very first time.

The 26-home development will include a mix of one, two, three and four-bedroom properties in response to greater demand from larger families within the area.

Of the 26 homes, six will be constructed to a Passivhaus standard of build, alongside 20 homes designed to achieve regulated operational net zero carbon.

Passivhaus – or Passive House – is one of the most rigorous design standards for new homes found anywhere in the UK.

With a super-insulated, thermal bridge-free building fabric, and use of enhanced components such as triple-glazed windows, Passsivhaus homes naturally retain heat from the sun and the activities of their occupants which means there is very little requirement for additional heating or cooling.

The net zero homes will also be highly energy efficient. Each dwelling will again have enhanced building fabric and triple-glazed windows whilst additionally adopting solar panels and a Tesla 'Powerwall' battery storage unit.

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Solar panels absorb energy during daylight hours and help offset costs associated with in-use consumption of fixed services and appliances within the home. If energy is not used at the point of generation, this is usually exported back to the National Grid, however, with the introduction of battery storage, this enables the energy to be saved for later use and allows the tenant to benefit from more favourable tariffs during the evening, resulting in vastly lower fuel bills.

All of the homes will use an air source heat pump for space heating and hot water services, one of various "clean" or "non-polluting" systems that are now being adopted as part of the Council's new Design Standard that will see all council homes in the region achieve, as a minimum, operational net zero carbon moving forward.

Funding for the Pappert project has come from the Vacant and Derelict Land Fund as well as the Affordable Housing Supply Programme through the Scottish Government.

It is the latest house building project in the area aiming to meet unprecedented demand for social housing.

Convener of Housing and Communities, Councillor Gurpreet Singh Johal, said: "This development is extremely important in responding to the changing needs of our residents.

"Not only does it meet the demand for larger family homes in order to reduce the risk of overcrowding but these properties are energy sufficient and sustainable with some of them adopting innovative Passivhaus standards in a first for West Dunbartonshire."

Councillor Hazel Sorrell, Vice Convener of Housing and Communities added: "I am pleased to see the progress which is being made and I look forward to revisiting the site once these vitally important homes are built and ready for families to move into."

Designed by MAST Architects, the development is due for completion in 2025.

It is the second such project that has been constructed by CCG in as many years to achieve such high standards of building and energy performance. Work began at Clydebank East in early-2023; the 88-home development was the Council's first-ever operational net zero carbon development and it too will be fully completed in 2025.