All new dwellings must meet ‘Part L’ of the 2006 building regulations, which were updated in June 2022. They must be energy efficient and have a design air permeability below 5 m3h-1m-2.

Airtightness Testing Sunderland

Air permeability testing, also referred to as air leakage or tightness testing, is the accepted method for measuring how much air has escaped through holes in a building’s fabric (also known as its building envelope). It serves as a quantitative quality control measure and ensures new buildings meet all necessary energy efficiency regulations.

A high airtightness score can save up to 50% of energy loss from within a building to the external environment, thus lessening its environmental impact and cutting energy bills for occupants.

According to the new ‘Part L’ of the building regulations, for air testing Sunderland, all new domestic properties must undergo an air test in order to reduce drafts and uncontrolled airflow through the fabric of the building. This helps improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Why You Need Air Testing For New Builds

When constructing a new dwelling or home, air permeability testing is one of the essential requirements to meet Part L of the Building Regulations. The goal of this testing is to guarantee that a dwelling is energy efficient and reduces carbon emissions.

Air permeability is the rate of airflow perpendicularly through a material when subjected to the pressure differential between two surfaces. It’s measured with blower door testing equipment that uses a fan to pressurise the fabric and record the differential in pressure.

Why Air Testing Important in Sunderland

Air permeability testing is an integral component of the building process, helping to reduce energy consumption and guaranteeing that a building’s Design Emission Rate meets its target emissions. It can be performed on any new build – residential or commercial – to help reduce emissions from a building and achieve higher energy ratings as well as environmental certification.

The air permeability test involves measuring fabric permeability at low pressure. This is typically done using a door blower fan, this portable compressed air-based system designed to measure air leakage and enclosure integrity directly at low pressure.

This system can be utilised for air permeability testing on buildings, with results usually completed in a short period of time. It may also be part of a comprehensive energy audit.

Other key findings:

Newcastle upon Tyne is the local authority that built the most council homes in England with 160 homes finished by Q3 of 2021, followed by the London Borough of Redbridge with 110 builds and Reading Council in South East England with 90 new council homes.

South East region saw the biggest increase of new homes in 2021.

Wigan is the local authority that saw the biggest decrease in council homes between 2020 and 2021 with 80 council homes built in 2020, and zero in 2021. The South East region saw the biggest increase of new homes in 2021.

In 2021, 28 local authorities, an equivalent of only 9%, started building council homes. Birmingham, in the West Midlands region, is the city with the most council homes started in 2021 with 230 homes, followed by Reading (150 homes) and Barking and Dagenham, in East London (120 homes).

Across all types of housing, nearly 3 in 4 local authorities have built more homes than last year. The local authority with the most homes completed in 2021 is Tower Hamlets in London, followed by Southwark and the Wiltshire Council in South West England.

On the contrary, the local authorities with zero private homes completed in 2021 are Gosport Borough Council, The City of London and Stevenage Council.

The local authorities that built the least council homes in England between 2020-2021 and its decrease

Looking for an Air Permeability test near me?

Having a knowledge of how much air leaks into your building is crucial for reducing energy consumption and improving the comfort of your occupants. As well as being costly to run, uncontrolled airflow can cause environmental damage. The Air Tightness Testing and Measurement Association (ATMA) is an organisation dedicated to the development of standards and procedures for air tightness testing.

Air permeability testing is not only important in reducing energy consumption, it can also be used as part of a wider energy audit. By reducing the amount of air leakage, a building can achieve an improved energy rating and environmental certification.

Air permeability testing is required on all residential developments. However, buildings that have useful floor area less than 500m2 may be exempt. Typically, a building’s air permeability is assessed as a measure of the seal quality of the building envelope.

Is airtightness testing important in Newcastle upon Tyne?

Performing airtightness testing on a building is a great way to assess its performance and ensure it meets all relevant building regulations. It can also provide a quantitative quality control measure, which can help to reduce your energy bill and improve the indoor environment.

Airtightness testing has been used for high-performance housing since the 1980s. It can help to measure the total air lost through leaks in a building, which is useful for identifying problem areas and determining the amount of insulation needed.

Airtightness testing is also helpful in the retrofit phase of a project. It can help to determine the amount of insulation needed, as well as the amount of airtightness effort required.

It can also help to reduce your CO2 emissions. It has been estimated that around 30% of a building’s heat is lost through air leaks. This is an area that can be a major performance concern. Performing airtightness testing early on will help identify and fix problems, which can lead to energy savings.

Rising maintenance bills and running costs were some of the reasons behind the decision to vacate the ageing Burdon Road base, which opened in 1970 and won a number of awards for its design.

Planning proposals from Vistry Partnerships Ltd aimed to bulldoze the site, its car park and associated structures to make way for up to 265 residential dwellings/apartments.

This included 145 houses and 120 apartments, with a mix of three-bedroom and four-bedroom homes, as well as one and two-bedroom apartments.

High quality public open spaces

The masterplan of the scheme aims to provide high quality public open spaces and cycling and pedestrian links, improving access to the city centre.

The return of Saint George’s Square

A key feature aims to recreate Saint George’s Square – which was bomb-damaged during the Second World War and lost to redevelopment decades later – with the Grade II-listed Saint George’s House as the focal point.

Developers stressed that the proposals would include three “significant areas of greenspace”, which would be designed to provide recreation for residents and the wider city centre.

Elsewhere, on-site parking would be provided through a combination of on-street allocated parking and in-curtilage parking for residents, as well as visitor spaces and eight electric vehicle charging spaces.

The architecture and streetscape of the scheme would also be sensitive to the parkside location and the Ashbrooke Conservation Area.

Plans were presented for decision at a meeting of the council’s Planning and Highways (East) Committee at City Hall on April 11, 2022.

Council planning officers, recommending the plans for approval, said the scheme would bring “significant benefits” by delivering housing in a “highly sustainable central location” and “enhancing heritage assets”.

Affordable housing via Homes England

Although no affordable housing could be secured through the planning process, councillors heard the applicant would deliver affordable housing via Homes England grant funding.

According to a planning report, this would see at least 68 residential units, around 25% of the site total, being affordable.

Some scheme critics, including the Sunderland Civic Society, raised concerns about the planning application in relation to affordable housing, car parking provision and impacts on residential amenity.

But Historic England, in a consultation statement, said the “enhancing effect” of the proposals would “outweigh the loss of the Civic Centre”.

This included the “strength of the proposal’s layout […] to create an environment that uses the influence of the conservation area to create a distinctive new neighbourhood”.

Although several councillors on the Planning and Highways (East) Committee praised the scheme, some concerns were raised.

Concerns included the impact of construction works on nearby businesses and the consequences of building three-storey town houses close to existing properties in the area.

Cash for parks?

Councillor Michael Dixon said that funding secured from developers, through a section 106 legal agreement, could be used to improve Mowbray Park and Backhouse Park nearby.

However councillors heard that funding as part of this draft agreement was allocated for education, allotment provision, ecology mitigation and the development of a community parking management scheme.

Following discussion, the Planning and Highways (East) Committee approved the plans with a unanimous vote.

Councillor Michael Butler, who chairs the panel, said: “I think it’s a very well thought out development that hopefully will bring new residents to the city centre to actually spend money here and encourage local business.”

Sold under Vistry’s house building brand Linden Homes

The completed homes will be sold under Vistry’s house building brand Linden Homes, with many benefiting from views across Mowbray Park.

A complex demolition programme lasting around 41 weeks will be undertaken to clear the site ready for the new development.

According to a report prepared for councillors, this will see the former civic centre site demolished over ten phases, starting at the southern part of the site and extending northward.

Construction works for the wider development are anticipated to take around five years to complete.

In advance of demolition, developers said they would contact neighbouring residents and businesses who remain concerned to “ensure that all reasonable measures are undertaken to minimise disruption”.

Andrew Rennie, development director for Vistry Partnerships North East, said the redevelopment plans would play a “pivotal part in Sunderland’s regeneration”.

Speaking after the planning meeting, he said:“We aim to create an attractive new residential quarter that sits comfortably within the surrounding architecture, with a focus on green space that encourages community use.

A fantastic new inclusive neighbourhood with its own distinctive character

“It will be a fantastic new inclusive neighbourhood with its own distinctive character, providing a new housing offer on the edge of Ashbrooke and Mowbray Park whilst benefiting from the close proximity to the city centre.”

Peter McIntyre, executive director of city development at Sunderland City Council, added: “Having made the move to our new City Hall only a matter of weeks ago, I am delighted to see plans for the former civic centre site given the green light.

“Housing on the outskirts of the city centre will deliver a significant boost to traders in the heart of the city, as people living on the doorstep head in to spend their time and money in shops, bars and restaurants.

“By bookending the city with residential developments – at Riverside Sunderland and the former civic site – we will boost footfall and hopefully – with it – spend too.”

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