Onward partners with Starship on carbon zero homes

Onward has partnered with specialist low carbon housebuilder and modular manufacturer, Starship, on a significant project on the Wirral. Through funding from Homes England and the Liverpool City Region Brownfield Land Fund, Onward and Starship will deliver 13 carbon zero homes across a 64,000 sq ft site in Wallasey. 

Situated on undeveloped land at the bottom of Greenleas Close in Wallasey, the 3-bedroom homes will be built with strong eco-credentials, holding an impressive EPC rating of A. The homes will all be fitted with an air source heat pump and other low carbon technologies, improving energy efficiency by 300-400% and helping drive down residents’ energy bills.  

This development is Starship’s first project with Onward Homes and is expected to be completed in just over 40 weeks. The MMC homes will be built in Starship’s Wirral Waters factory, with each home taking a week to build and a day and a half to be erected on site. Once completed, all homes at Greenleas Close will be available via Onward through Rent to Buy.

Bronwen Rapley, Chief Executive of Onward Homes, said:

“Onward is committed to becoming a leading environmentally-friendly landlord across the north west, providing warm and affordable homes in greener neighbourhoods for our customers to enjoy. Starship’s cutting-edge homes promise to make a real difference in this part of Wallasey, helping local people take their first steps on the property ladder while ‘treading lighter’ on the local environment through sustainable design and manufacturing.” 

Dave Dargan, Co-founder and CEO of Starship, said: 

“At Starship, we are purpose driven to build better, and we have a strong commitment to low-carbon living, ensuring that everything we do is led by our commitment to the green agenda. Forming a partnership with Onward Homes is an exciting opportunity for us to continue delivering gold-standard, carbon zero homes and developing long-lasting communities with sustainability at their core. Greenleas will become a fantastic new addition to Wallasey, providing people with modern homes in the heart of one of Wirral’s most up and coming areas.” 

Councillor Graham Morgan, Liverpool City Region Portfolio Holder for Housing and Spatial Planning, said:

“We are determined to ensure there is a great choice of high-quality homes, right across the city region, as part of our ambitious plans to tackle the housing crisis. Building on brownfield sites is at the heart of that process – after all there are around 700 of them with enough space to build 42,000 homes – and we were very pleased to use our Brownfield Land Fund to support this exciting project. The fact that these are affordable modern homes, built to be zero carbon, using the most modern methods of construction, is the icing on the cake.”