The 75-home Westwick Row development will serve as a test project for delivering more sustainable homes with lower energy bills, with the findings expected to inform the larger East Hemel scheme.
Wates Residential has secured the two-stage contract after competing against Greencore Homes and Kind & Co.
The contractor will initially refine the design, construction strategy and project costs under a pre-construction services agreement. The main construction contract will proceed only if the scheme meets its target cost and receives approval from the Crown Estate.
The five-acre site next to Leverstock Green Primary School will accommodate a mix of houses, flats and a community hub, with affordable housing accounting for 30% of the development.
Developer TOWN is working with the Crown Estate to deliver a housing mix that includes 27 cohousing homes alongside rental properties.
Under the cohousing model, residents will have their own private homes while sharing communal facilities, outdoor spaces and a common house for meals, social activities and events.
Timber-frame construction and high-performance building materials will help reduce carbon emissions and household energy costs, with strict sustainability targets incorporated into the contract.
The scheme requires upfront embodied carbon emissions to remain below 300kgCO₂e per sq m, while annual operational energy consumption is targeted at 35kWh per sq m. Homes will follow Passivhaus principles, and the development will participate in the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard pilot.
The project also aims to introduce new approaches to neighbourhood planning by involving future residents, tenants and existing neighbours in shaping the homes and shared spaces.
The Crown Estate intends to develop a model that can be replicated across its wider housing portfolio, beginning with the proposed East Hemel development, which is planned to deliver 4,000 homes.
Westwick Row is one of three demonstration schemes, alongside projects at Wootton in Bedfordshire and Knutsford in Cheshire. Together, the developments will deliver nearly 200 homes to test alternative approaches to housing construction, ownership and rental while reducing living costs.
Periscope has led the masterplanning and landscape design for Westwick Row, with Mole and Archio responsible for designing the homes.
English 