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Partnership with the Crown Estate

Who is The Crown Estate? The Crown Estate is one of the country’s largest landowners with a portfolio that stretches across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Their purpose is to create lasting and shared prosperity for the nation, by making sure their activities have a positive environmental, social and economic impact that will help communities to thrive.

Development

The Crown Estate is launching two pilot housing projects to test different approaches to building net zero homes.

The projects have been identified to explore the opportunities and challenges of delivering industry-leading net zero housing developments. Both will draw on best practice in sustainable design and construction and encourage innovation to minimise operational and embodied carbon.

The two projects are:

  • A site at Wootton in Bedford comprising of 15 acres of land with a Neighbourhood Plan allocation for around 50 homes, 30% of which will be affordable.
  • A site in Knutsford in Cheshire with outline consent for up to 60 homes, 30% affordable homes, as well as associated road infrastructure (a link road and roundabout).

The aim is to explore how new homes can be delivered using less than 300kg/m2 of embodied carbon alongside meeting ambitious energy efficiency targets. The Crown Estate is seeking partners for the pilot projects and will look to test different models for project delivery, including through incentives for achieving environmental and financial outcomes.

The Crown Estate has appointed Gs8 as their partners to create proposals for the land off Bedford Road and deliver innovative and low-impact homes for the local community. 

Who is Gs8? Established in 2014, GS8 are developers and contractors that have pioneered authentically regenerative housing, through their planet positive framework, making them a market leader in the industry. Their work emphasises community-led schemes, where local people play a key role in the planning and development process, shaping schemes to solve housing and social challenges and opportunities in their area.
What are the plans for Wootton? The Crown Estate is committed to helping address both the climate emergency and diminishing levels of biodiversity across the country. This includes a target to become a net zero-carbon business, and seeking to contribute to the UK’s green agenda. GS8 are a market leader in the UK for regenerative housing. Their planet-positive framework focuses on whole-lifecycle carbon, zero-waste projects, zero energy-bill housing and a number of other key challenges, including reducing water consumption, improving biodiversity and creating climate resilience. Jointly, The Crown Estate and GS8 are looking to deliver an exemplar housing scheme in Wootton that provides a blueprint for the industry, showcasing environmental performance beyond best practice and delivering meaningful social benefits through a community-led approach.
The key steps in working with the residents

The Crown Estate, GS8 and Wootton Parish Council will be at the following consultations to explain what is happening and listen to your comments. Please come along and have a say.

Step
Description

Status

Step 1

Initial Consultation (Tuesday 23 July 2024)

Completed

Step 2

Second Consultation (Wednesday 25 September 2024)

Completed

Step 3

Full Plans Consultation (Tuesday 26th November)

Completed