Eco-home builder takes £8.4m loan to kickstart estate in Sheffield

Leeds-based Citu has borrowed the sum to build the first 46 houses at Kelham Central, between Alma, Russell and Cotton streets, on a former industrial site in Kelham Island.

The firm plans to make panels from timber in a factory in Leeds and put them together on site, reducing construction time, waste and carbon footprint, it is claimed.

Kelham Central is set to include a total of 114 residential units. They will not have a gas boiler and will rely on ‘excellent insulation, an air-tight thermal envelope and a mechanical heat recovery ventilation system which transfers the heat generated by the home to incoming fresh air, maintaining a constant flow of fresh air, whilst keeping heat locked in’. They require up to 10 times less heating than a typical UK house, it is claimed.

It is alleged the development puts two traditional businesses in jeopardy.

The firm has been working on a neighbouring site, Little Kelham, for seven years and says the 153 homes, shops and offices are ‘almost complete’. Residents there complained about being cold in 2019.

It is also ‘preferred developer’ for the delayed £100m, 700-house Attercliffe Waterside plan relaunched two years ago.

Chris Thompson, managing director of Citu Group, said: “In the face of the climate emergency, businesses are increasingly aware of the footprints and environmental consciousness of their stakeholders. Banks have a large influence in directing funds towards climate conscious projects and businesses, and we welcome the vision of Aldermore in supporting us to bring to fruition this important project.”

Iain Bryson, head of development and specialist property at Aldermore, said they were commited to working with construction firms, housebuilders and property developers to fund ‘high quality, low carbon and sustainable developments’.

Sheffield Green party leader Coun Douglas Johnson raised environmental concerns about Attercliffe Waterside in March.

Stating that the ‘proposal puts a large area of recreational space and biodiversity at risk’.

He added: “As a developer, Citu has the potential to offer the high standard of homes the area deserves. However, residents of Kelham Island will certainly prefer that they finish work on the estate there first.”

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Thank you. Nancy Fielder, editor.