Hammerson-owned Elliott’s Field Shopping Park Phase II in Rugby has had its Outstanding rating confirmed by BREEAM, the world’s leading sustainability assessment method for master planning projects, infrastructure and buildings.
Projex was the appointed project manager and employer’s agent for the park, which was also the first shopping park globally designed to be carbon neutral.
It had been given an interim rating of Outstanding before it opened in time for Christmas 2017.
BREEAM certified developments are sustainable environments that enhance the well-being of the people who live and work in them. Outstanding is the highest accreditation, achieved by less than one percent of new non-domestic buildings, and indicates that the developer embraced sustainability from the outset.
Elliott’s Field’s BREEAM rating was measured on its embodied carbons as well as benchmarked against stringent Hammerson objectives. Initiatives at Elliott’s Field Phase II include:
- Passive design features to minimise energy demands including optimised fabric parameters
- Agreements with retailers to fit out units with energy efficient systems.
- A number of design variations to reduce the embodied carbon emissions including the incorporation of timber to replace steel and aluminium, acting as a carbon sink.
- Installation of a major PV array on the roof to offset all remaining regulated emissions and supply electricity free to tenants.
- Sourcing of materials with environmental accountability.
- Creation of a canal bankside nature area for wildlife to enhance the site’s ecological value.
- Phase II consisted of a terrace of nine units and is now home to retailers including Sofology, DFS, Furniture Village, Halfords and Starbucks.
The project was fast-tracked in time for its December opening, having been purchased in July 2016 with work starting on site early in 2017.
Projex director, Ian Gregg, comments: “It’s a fantastic achievement for Hammerson and was a great project to be involved with.”
Elliott’s Field Phase I, which opened in 2015, achieved a BREEAM Excellent rating, marking the first shopping park in Hammerson’s portfolio to receive this accreditation.