Multi-award winner “Hope Rise” is a pioneering zero operational carbon and socially focused development of 11 homes for vulnerable young people who are at risk of homelessness. The development was designed by ZED PODS, an award-winning specialist modular contractor, to double up on the usefulness of existing assets and was erected on a metal podium 2.5m above an existing public car park, to retain 100% of the original parking spaces. Using precision manufacturing technology, the housing modules are completed up to 85% in an offsite factory and are installed on-site within five days and with little disruption to local communities. A year-long “Post Occupancy Study” by an independent body validated the as designed energy performance of the building.

This project demonstrates how to design and build a PassivHaus as a contemporary English cottage. The client had outgrown their existing bungalow and they required an incredibly low-energy home that would cater for their current needs, whilst also preparing for the family to grow. Tate+Co worked in close collaboration with sustainability experts Etude to design a family home that would have the smallest possible impact on its environment whilst developing a carefully crafted, modern rural vernacular. A simple rectangular form and pitched roof take inspiration from the surrounding cottages and open the ground floor to the beautiful southern views across the fields. It was important to the client that suitable natural materials were used, therefore a carefully selected wood cladding was adopted, not just to clad the walls but also pop-out windows and the roof. Various widths of cladding board wrap the building to create a seamless, crisp finish. The brief was also to integrate state-of-the-art technology, including multi-mode smart lighting, heat recovery units and thermal stores, an air source heat pump and PV panels (soon to be installed). These were all designed holistically following a fabric first approach for the building to have the smallest possible impact on the environment.

The house sits on a quiet single-track country road with uninterrupted views of the surrounding countryside and is oriented along a north/south axis with the key areas opening to the south to flood the rooms with natural light and maximise the views across the fields beyond.

This case study is featured in UKGBC’s report, A Guide for Delivering Social Value on Built Environment Projects.

Larkhall Park involves the creation of 127 new homes (flats and townhouses) and flexible community and commercial space. The project stemmed from significant involvement from local community groups, particularly Friends of Larkhall Park. In 2014, Lambeth Council were forced to cut their maintenance costs for green spaces across the Borough. In response to this crisis, the Friends of Larkhall Park approached the Council to explore whether some underused and neglected council assets could be used to build a community-managed maintenance approach for the park. The project proposes using three council-owned sites adjacent to the park to build high quality, sustainable social housing, and additional community space for local groups. As part of the planning application, Homes for Lambeth commissioned Buro Happold to produce a social value measurement framework for Larkhall Park.

What makes the project interesting?

• The role Friends of Larkhall Park play in the project, particularly the influence they hold over design decisions and the sustainability strategy.
• A community engagement specialist, Locality, were commissioned to do the ‘on the ground’ engagement and interact with the local community to ensure the strategy was in line with community needs.

Future considerations: 

The measurement framework is set up to track social value delivery through design and construction. The design team and client will review the targets at each design stage and identify any challenges and opportunities going forward. As this scheme will remain within the ownership of the client, social value creation strategies will be carried forward post completion into management practices, particularly with regards to the local park and the community space.

This case study is featured in UKGBC’s report, A Guide for Delivering Social Value on Built Environment Projects.

Since the opening of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in June 2015 several NHS properties across Glasgow have been declared operationally redundant. The resulting consolidation of NHS facilities will result in Yorkhill Hospital, the former home of the Queen Mother’s Maternity Hospital and the Royal Hospital for Sick Children being permanently closed.

The impending closure of Yorkhill, and its prime location by the River Clyde, has seen it become a prime candidate for development. The initial development proposal produced Michael Laird Associates (with support from AECOM and JLL) promotes a mixed-use development masterplan incorporating the following:

• Significant amounts of new public realm that will be linked to the existing context and site surroundings and will provide a distinctive and active pedestrian environment that will encourage social interaction and local spending within the masterplan area.
• A series of new and engaging pedestrian accesses through the site making valuable connections to the North, East, South, and West.
• New commercial frontages along Old Dumbarton Road with a suitable scale to ensure a vibrant new street edge is created. To inform the masterplan, JLL developed a toolkit that will be used to assess and report the socio-economic value of proposed development options against the project’s priority social value outcomes.

What makes the project interesting? 

• The bespoke socio-economic toolkit helped to focus the design process.
• The potential socio-economic contributions of Yorkhill are being discussed alongside more traditional economic contributions such as construction value.

Future considerations: 

The Yorkhill masterplan is currently awaiting approval. However, prior to the final approval and implementation of the masterplan a solution to the relocation of the residual clinical services remaining on site needs to be determined. This revaluation of clinical services will be considered in terms of the initial outcomes derived from the toolkit and will support the evolution of the masterplan.

This case study is featured in UKGBC’s report, A Guide for Delivering Social Value on Built Environment Projects.

The town of Clun frequently experiences flooding incidents which adversely impact the local community. In response, Shropshire Council have been allocated funds from the Department for Transport (DfT) to develop a flood alleviation scheme in Clun in collaboration with WSP and Kier. A comprehensive data collection and initial project scoping phase has already taken place, with a technical note on the scheme delivered in July 2021. WSP recognise that delivering social value would significantly benefit the Clun community and are keen to go beyond the technical expertise of designing drainage infrastructure to build a legacy for years to come, acting as a catalyst for long-term change. They would like to implement a ‘soft’ engineering approach given the local areas focus on conservation. WSP are keen to focus on reinstatement of existing historical ponds, using natural flood management and techniques to ‘slow the flow’, as opposed to building new infrastructure. This could include using existing systems such as ponds and wetlands, as well as reintroducing improved water concentrations and quality to support the presence of freshwater pearl mussels. Through reinstating and improving historical river elements to help flood management, the team also hope to improve the natural beauty of the area, provide a tourism hub, footpaths for recreation and the use of modern engineering techniques – all which could be shared with the local community.

What makes the project interesting? 

• The project stands out due to the strong working relationship and partnership between WSP, Kier and Shropshire Council.
• The project has included social value considerations from the initial bid stage.
• Shropshire Council already have a range of locally run initiatives in place that the project team will be able to build upon.
• The ongoing relationship between WSP and Shropshire Council will ensure that the social value initiatives are continued through the operational phase of the scheme with strong existing community ties and stakeholder engagement assisting with ongoing monitoring and reporting of social value outcomes.

Future considerations: 

• Review key deliverables with Shropshire Council and assign these to social value champions who can implement and track progress.
• Use the social value ideas tracker to map out relevant contacts for each initiative.
• Develop a long-term plan with the Strategic Clun Liaison group to work alongside the community, the Council, landowners, and other stakeholders to report on progress and track opportunities.
• Carry out another public consultation exercise during Spring 2022 to further communicate, evaluate and test their Social Value Delivery Plan.

This case study is featured in UKGBC’s report, A Guide for Delivering Social Value on Built Environment Projects.

Strategic real estate advisor Avison Young, and local charity Groundwork Greater Manchester, with support from the IGNITION partnership, are undertaking an exciting pilot project throughout 2021/22 named ‘Greening Swinton Square’. Swinton Square is an established retail asset in Salford, Greater Manchester, which has been used by the community for over 45 years and currently comprises a range of retail, leisure and residential units. The Greening Swinton Square project aims to demonstrate how nature-based solutions (NBS) can be an integral part of the design of town centres. By delivering ‘more than just greening’ NBS can contribute to climate and nature outcomes, whilst also improving the vibrancy of town centres. As part of the wider IGNITON project, Greening Swinton Square is an example of how the city region can increase its resilience to the impacts of climate change by working with a range of landowners and communities. Engagement with Salford City Council has ensured that this project fits in with wider plans for the regeneration of Swinton town centre and it could form a model for other town centres across the city. To date, Greening Swinton Square has engaged various community stakeholders on the topic of NBS; what they are, how they can be used and the benefits they can bring. Following a series of engagement activities, Groundwork and Avison Young have started to work with residents, business owners and shopping centre visitors to co-design several NBS, such as living walls, green roofs, and rain gardens, which will be installed by the Groundwork team in spring 2022.

The Greening Swinton Square team have undertaken a creative engagement approach to establish the projects baseline, agree social value outcomes and develop the NBS design solutions, these include:

• The creation of an on-site community hub in an empty retail unit. The hub has been home to interactive demonstrations of living walls, rain gardens and green roofs, allowing visitors to see, touch and feel these concepts and gain a much better understanding of NBS.
• Interactive on-site events to understand community wants, needs and preferences.
• Observations using MOHAWk tool5 (Method for Observing Physical Activity and Wellbeing) to record how people are using the space now.

Installation of the NBS is expected in March 2022, beyond this Avison Young and Groundwork Greater Manchester have committed to monitor the NBS, exploring the benefits and impact they have, as well as ensuring their ongoing maintenance.

What makes the project interesting?

• Greening Swinton Square seeks to demonstrate the tangible benefits of investing in NBS beyond the immediate environmental and wellbeing benefits; exploring improved building performance and economic value to inform the investment case.
• The partnership between Groundwork, as a local charity, Avison Young, as a commercial real estate manager, and wider IGNITION public sector partners, has allowed us to build a trusted relationship with stakeholders, gain in depth local knowledge and ensure a better understanding of stakeholder interests and what matters to each stakeholder group.

Future considerations: 

Once the full baseline data is in place, Avison Young will work with Groundwork Greater Manchester to develop a Social Value Measurement Framework and plan for ongoing monitoring and reporting.

This case study is featured in UKGBC’s report, A Guide for Delivering Social Value on Built Environment Projects.

Langarth Garden Village will provide a new, sustainable community for between 8,000 and 10,000 residents in Cornwall. Langarth will provide a mix of housing sizes, types, and tenures to meet local need. It will also include new schools, health, cultural, faith, leisure, and community facilities. Pedestrian and cycle links into Threemilestone and the surrounding communities will be created and enhanced, with new areas of forest, parks, parks, public sport areas and green amenity spaces. Innovative and flexible workspaces will also be provided. Over thirty organisations fed into the planning design work, fifteen of which are from Cornwall and contributed local knowledge and expertise. Arcadis leads the Portfolio Management Office (PMO) that oversees the management of all the programmes which feed into delivery of Langarth Garden Village including social infrastructure (led by Arcadis), integrated transport (led by Cornwall Council/Cormac) and technical infrastructure (led by Arcadis). The masterplan was developed by AHR with close support from Atlantic Arc Planning.

What makes the project interesting?

• The project is aiming to create a community that is connected to the local area, whilst maintaining a proper village centre. Each centre hopes to attract local businesses that will be accessible to residents by walking or cycling.
• There will be a community farm, allotments, edible streets, and several mobility hubs which will all contribute towards a sense of community.
• The scheme will improve walking and cycling networks into Truro which will have a major benefit for Cornwall and encourage more people to choose to walk and cycle their commutes.
• A new stewardship model will enable local ownership of the new community and allow the benefits of Langarth to be realised into the future.
• There is a huge apprenticeship focus with apprentices working at the heart of the scheme providing career opportunities for those wanting to live and work in Cornwall.

Future considerations: 

Langarth Garden Village obtained planning approval in December 2021 with no objections.

This case study is featured in UKGBC’s report, A Guide for Delivering Social Value on Built Environment Projects.

White Collar Factory is an award-winning redevelopment of a major corner site on the Silicon Roundabout in the heart of the London’s Tech City. Construction was completed in 2017 and includes a new 16-storey 237,000 square foot office tower and low-rise campus buildings containing offices, retail, housing, and a new public square. Derwent London commissioned JLL to evaluate the socio-economic impact of White Collar Factory to understand the net impact (positive or negative) that the building has had on the local area and community.

What makes the project interesting? 

• White Collar Factory is based in the London Borough of Islington, a borough with some areas of high deprivation (53rd most deprived borough in England). Local data demonstrated that there was a clear local need and an opportunity to have a positive social impact.
• The project features several unique health and wellbeing initiatives including a running track.
• Derwent London have committed to carrying out socio-economic impact assessments on all major projects once occupied. White Collar Factory was the first project where Derwent London investigated not only the development’s impact upon local stakeholders, but also measured occupier wellbeing. Also new to the assessment were insights from the alternative field of neuroscience.

Future considerations: 

Plans include projects that continue to build on the site’s integration to the local area and that bring businesses and local communities together, for example work experience and employment opportunities to showcase the sectors and companies that call this area home.

This case study is featured in UKGBC’s report, A Guide for Delivering Social Value on Built Environment Projects.

Brent Cross Town is a £7bn new town centre development for London set around 50 acres of parks and playing fields. The scheme includes 3 million square foot of office space, 6,700 new homes, student accommodation, restaurants and sports and leisure facilities. Construction started in 2020 and the first permanent buildings will be completed in 2024. The Joint Venture partners (Argent Related and Barnet Council) are currently working with University of Manchester and Buro Happold to undertake innovative quantitative and qualitative research to develop a ‘Flourishing Index’ for Brent Cross Town. The ‘Flourishing Index’ will be used to inform social value target-setting and the development of a Social Value Delivery Plan.

What makes the project interesting?

• The project is an example of a joint venture that has leveraged UK Research Council and match-funding to create transdisciplinary MA and PhD opportunities.
• It is expected that all anonymised data collected will be open source. This will be achieved by working with Data for London.
• The project involves the innovative use of both routinely collected and bespoke data, drawing on established and novel digital techniques. Both datasets were analysed based on input and interpretation from local people, stakeholders, professionals, and experts giving a deep understanding of the data.
• Drawing on Medical Research Council and Nesta research standards, the project goes beyond Post Occupancy Evaluation, collecting ‘before and after’ data, providing a unique opportunity to understand additionality.

Future considerations:

• Develop a social value delivery plan and an approach for ongoing monitoring and reporting.
• The survey work involved working with adults and future work will look at developing a Flourishing Index for children and teenagers.
• Consideration of global social impact via supply chains and local sustainable behaviours that may overlap with experiences of wellbeing.

Detailed energy modelling and a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) were undertaken to determine the whole life carbon emissions of each option. The LCA was one of the first of its kind due to its inclusion of the embodied carbon of both the existing building structure and of the demolition. This allowed for an accurate comparison between the retrofit options and an equivalent new build school.