Scotland' Housing Expo

First UK Housing Expo set to boost Scottish construction industry.

Today (16th December 2009), Scotland’s Housing Expo reported a major boost to the Scottish construction industry, with the appointment of the Highland Contractors Consortium Ltd as principal contractor to build 55 architecturally designed sustainable homes that will be showcased in Inverness at the UK’s first Housing Expo in August 2010. This is a unique collaboration between six of the North’s top housing contractors.

The six companies involved in this innovative contractual arrangement are William Gray Construction Ltd, Tulloch Ltd, Robertson Highland Ltd Morrison/Galliford Try, O’Brien Homes and James MacQueen from the Isle of Skye. This move provides a real uplift for the construction industry both in Scotland and the Highlands during these challenging economic times. Work on the construction of the houses has now commenced following on from an earlier phase of infrastructure and plot preparation works.

Scotland’s Housing Expo will provide a vision for the next generation of Scottish housing and is based on an established model found in Finland and mainland Europe. It is set to put Scotland firmly on the map as an exemplar of sustainable living.. 40% of the Expo homes will be affordable, with the remaining 60% available for sale on the open market.

Fully supported by the Highland Council and a consortium of agencies, the Expo is a result of an architectural competition which was entered by the cream of Scottish architecture to design these unique and state of the art homes. Based on an innovative master plan for the whole site, the winning designs offer a view of future living for both affordable and private housing, using high quality design, demonstrations of sustainable technologies and new construction methods.

The Expo houses and their contents will form a platform for showcasing the wealth of Highland and Scottish design talent, including interior and product design. The initiative also provides a ‘test bed’ for construction and technological innovation, which will inform Scottish house building in the future. The houses will inspire developers to learn new skills and source fresh ideas to incorporate into future designs, while demonstrating how new building standards can be met on energy efficiency and carbon reduction.

Councillor Jean Urquhart, chair of the Housing Expo board said: \\\"The Expo’s vision of creating an exemplar community originated in the Highlands and has now developed into a national landmark event for Scotland. Nothing like this has ever taken place in the UK before and we are excited that the Highlands will be leading the way to a better, sustainable-living future. We are looking forward to seeing the completion of these amazing buildings.”

With home builders key to the successful delivery of the Expo, Jonathan Fair, Chief Executive of industry body Homes for Scotland, said: “This is a great opportunity to further highlight the innovation and forward-thinking that already exists in our sector, both in terms of design and environmental impact. New homes are already significantly more energy efficient, generating over 60% less CO2 emissions than older-style properties which is the equivalent of driving 10,000 miles a year less per household.”