SuDS, Daylight, Energy and BREEAM: Croydon Care Home

Eight Versa was appointed as the sustainability consultant for the planning application for this scheme; specifically to provide consultancy on flood risk, sustainable drainage systems (SuDS), energy, daylight and sunlight impact, and the preliminary BREEAM assessment.

The project will be a new 60-bedroom care home and 3 self-contained residential dwellings, at a 0.3-hectare site in the London Borough of Croydon.

Eight Versa provided multi-disciplinary consultancy services for the project from an early stage, aligning the respective services to optimise the holistic sustainability performance of the development.

Flood Risk and SuDS

Although the flood risk at the site was deemed to be low, the surface water flood risk for surrounding areas was low-to-medium. Therefore integrated SuDS needed to be considered for the site, including small-scale rainwater harvesting to meet irrigation demand, 130m²of green roofs, rain garden bioretention systems, pervious paving and sub-surface geocellular attenuation storage proposed beneath the car park, to provide approximately 70m³storage capacity. The installation of the SuDS gave rise to a number of flood risk benefits including attenuation for 1 in 100 year storm events, lowered discharge rates, and significantly reduced risk of surface water flooding on and off site.

Energy and CO₂Emissions

Following a detailed iterative energy modelling exercise, Eight Versa’s energy consultants worked closely with the design team to achieve an overall 36% carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions reduction against Building Regulations Part L (exceeding the London Plan requirement). Careful consideration was given to a range of solutions to achieve the optimum balance for the project that satisfied the requirements of all disciplines in the design team. This was comprised of an 11% CO₂reduction through efficient building fabric and services, 16% CO₂reduction from proposed heating and cooling systems, including combined heat and power (CHP), and a further 9% CO₂reduction from solar photovoltaic (PV) panels.

BREEAM

Eight Versa’s BREEAM assessors met with the design team at the earliest opportunity, to establish the preliminary BREEAM strategy for a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating (score of 73%). Clear and effective communication with the design team, along with input from Eight Versa’s energy and SuDS consultants (to target 11 out of 12 BREEAM Ene 01 (‘Reduction of CO₂Emissions’) credits and 4 out of 5 Pol 03 (‘Surface Water Runoff’) credits, respectively), optimised the BREEAM strategy for the project.

Eight Versa’s consultancy services ensured that planning permission was granted for the project, and a successful development design, informed by a multi-disciplinary consultancy team was delivered to the client. This project highlighted the importance of an iterative and collaborative approach to optimise the outcome. Eight Versa continues to provide sustainability consultancy services post-planning, throughout the design and post-construction stages.