An environmentally-friendly development has won a top builder a major construction quality award.
Residents of Cwrt y Glowyr in the village of Penyffordd, near Holywell, stayed warm this winter and helped save the planet thanks to an advanced heating system installed by builders Anwyl Construction.
The air-source heating systems were an integral part of the £1.1 million nine-home scheme built by Anwyl for major North Wales social housing company Grwp Cynefin.
The new estate of five three-bed and four two-bed properties has just scooped the Flintshire Local Authority Building Control award for the Best Social Housing Development for Anwyl, one of two awards they have won across North Wales this year.
They are now in the running for the North Wales award which will be announced later this month at a ceremony at St David’s Park Hotel, Ewloe, just a stone’s throw from the company’s new headquarters.
Cwrt y Glowyr’s nine homes are arranged in a block of three and three pairs of semi-detached houses and as well as air-source heating each also has photo-voltaic solar panels to provide electricity.
Councillor Kevin Jones, Flintshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Protection, said: : “This is an extremely well laid out rural development which enhances the area and I would welcome similar cost effective schemes in the future.
“It’s good to see developments in the rural villages helping to keep young people in their historic environment – villages age together but often they lose the younger generation.
“The use of air source heating and solar panels is also a benefit and it would be good to see more developments like this across the county.”
Anwyl Construction Director Tom Anwyl said: “The development here in Penyffordd has gone very well under out site manager Dave Haken and I think the residents are very happy with it.
“It’s a very ‘green’ development with the air-source heating and the solar panels and it is important to have these sorts of skills.
“We are always delighted to win a Local Authority Building Control award as we consider them a hugely important accolade and a benchmark for the construction industry.
“It’s always nice to have your work recognised and to have it done by the people whose job it is to oversee all the building work that goes on in Flintshire is very satisfying.
“We do feel it is important to work with the local authority building control departments in North Wales. We have a good working relationship with them which has been built up over the years. You can talk to them about issues and it works very well for both sides.
“We also value our partnership with Grwp Cynefin with whom we have worked before because they believe in using North Wales-based builders to make sure that the local community and its economy benefits from their projects.”
Grwp Cynefin Development Manager R Bryn Davies said: “We congratulate Anwyl Construction on their nomination for this award.
“The homes at Cwrt y Glowyr are part of our commitment to providing high quality homes in rural communities.
“The inclusion of energy efficient heating systems helps keep down the running costs of the homes, and is part of our commitment to reducing fuel poverty.”
Flintshire Council Building Control Team Leader John Wilkinson said: “Anwyl and their site manager have been keen throughout this project to liaise with Building Control to ensure full compliance without the need to rectify matters later.
“This ensured a very smooth construction phase as no significant problems arose. It also enabled a fast and smooth completion of properties with no difficulties.
“The developer has built up an excellent understanding with Building Control over a number of years and consistently delivers high quality work in all aspects of the build programme.”
