The main contractor of a major development project in Shoreham-by-Sea sought Whitecode Consulting’s sustainability expertise to help it achieve the ‘Very Good’ BREEAM ratings it was targeting.
The mixed-use development, situated on the site of a disused wharf, east of the Shoreham-by-Sea town centre, was part of a major redevelopment scheme by Adur District Council to reinvigorate the local area.
As part of the comprehensive project, 955m2 of retail space and 932m2 of ancillary commercial floorspace were required. Alongside a significant residential development, the area will also feature a communal garden terrace area, parking and bike storage.
Having worked with Whitecode Consulting on previous projects, the main contractor – HG Construction – knew the sustainability consultants would be able to provide the support and guidance needed to achieve the ‘Very Good’ BREEAM ratings it was targeting.
However, Whitecode Consulting was implemented into the BREEAM assessment at a late stage, which meant finding early-stage evidence for the project was difficult, especially to get the assessments to meet the ‘Very Good’ standard that was targeted.
Ellen Huelin, Sustainability Director at Whitecode Consulting, highlighted how the expertise and experience of the team proved critical in helping the client to the fullest. She said: “We have currently achieved a rating of ‘Very Good’ for both Phase 1 assessments and are seeking for ways to gain this for the Phase 2 assessment.
We have achieved the ‘Very Good’ rating in the Phase 1 assessments by seeking for early consultation documents in the planning portal. These documents proved that key stakeholders such as the members of the public were consulted on key areas of the building.
We also had to find a way to gain the crucial ecology credits, as the ecology assessor’s report and information could not be found by HG when we started our assessment. This meant we had to reassess the site once it was already near completion, and not before or close to works starting which is the norm.
We also targeted credits which were not targeted by the previous assessor to get the development to this level. This included the ‘Security’ target, which was achieved by completing the early stage Secure by Design (SBD) consultation, the ‘Responsible sourcing’ target, which was improved by gaining more Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and the ‘Waste’ target, which was met by recalculating the site area to lower the amount of waste produced per m2”
Despite being brought in late on in the assessment phase, Whitecode Consulting worked alongside the contractor and the architect, ACA Studios, supplying an extensive BREEAM consultancy service to help attain the targeted ratings.
Alongside the provision of regular, informative and easy-to-apply advice, Whitecode Consulting’s BREEAM Accredited Professionals undertook frequent BREEAM workshops with the client team.
Two site inspections were also undertaken, one for each phase of the project. This enabled the taking of pictures to help evidence criteria for certain credits, such as ENE 03 for external lighting.
Additionally, a thermographic survey was also completed by Whitecode Consulting’s Managing Director, Alex Hill, to show continuous insulation was throughout the assessed areas.
