Mansfield’s first ultra-low energy council homes have been receiving their first tenants.

The four two-bedroom semi-detached houses on Saundby Avenue were officially handed over to the town’s mayor, Andy Abrahams, on behalf of Mansfield District Council, when he visited the site to meet representatives from local contractor Robert Woodhead Ltd.

Among the successful tenants, chosen from dozens who applied via the council’s Homefinder service, were Carrie and Daymun Green and their new baby son, Leo, born two days before they were offered one of the tenancies.

The new homes are set to become among only 170 Passivhaus certified homes in the UK and the first of their kind in Mansfield.

In addition, the new houses are Lifetime Homes compliant, which means they are future-proofed for changing needs of occupants.

Following principles developed by the Passivhaus Institute in Germany, the four homes have a low carbon footprint and use little energy for heating or cooling.

The properties have high levels of insulation, triple-glazed windows with insulated frames, mechanical ventilation system, and a highly-efficient heat recovery system.

The council said that reduces the heat loss so much that the homes barely need central heating. Passive heat sources, including the sun, human occupants, and household appliances, help to provide sources of heating that are then recovered through the property’s heat recovery system.

The mayor said: “This has been a really exciting and significant project by providing much-needed two-bedroom affordable homes for rent, while also putting the environment as a key consideration.

“The new tenants of these homes will be moving into houses of the highest specification and with very low bills for energy consumption.

“These kinds of homes are the future if we want to be serious about tackling climate change and reducing carbon emissions to a sustainable level by 2040.

“Another key part of this scheme was to add social value through the procurement process. This meant that most of work was done by local companies and supply chains, and that the scheme offered training opportunities to local students.”

The Passivhaus scheme was one of the first projects to benefit from the council’s new procurement policy, which puts a greater emphasis on social, environmental, and economic factors. It was procured through EEM, a not-for-profit procurement consortium that aims to deliver best value for the public sector.

As part of the contract with Robert Woodhead Ltd, the project created local training and employment opportunities, supported local supply chain companies, involved schoolchildren and community organisations, and off-set carbon emissions through the planting of trees and by recycling a high percentage of the construction waste.

The company worked with three education providers and delivered careers talks to more than 700 students.

It also supported three work experience Vision West Nottinghamshire College students, and had two trainees working on the project, including one funded by the Government’s Kickstart scheme that aims to create new jobs for 16 to 24-year-olds on Universal Credit who are at risk of long-term unemployment.

Woodhead has calculated that for every £1 spend on the project, it returned £2.84 to the local economy, and 87% of the spend was within 20 miles of the site.

Tom Woodhead, business services director for Robert Woodhead Ltd, said: “We’re passionate about working with forward-thinking clients, like Mansfield District Council, who are looking at innovative ways to improve affordable housing, and we hope to be able to deliver more homes like this in the future.”

The homes in Saundby Avenue are owned and managed by the council and were built as part of a major programme of new council homes in the district.

In 2019, the authority agreed a £51.9m council house building programme. It includes 10 energy efficient homes completed last year in Rosemary Avenue, 77 new homes planned in an expansion of the Centenary Road scheme at the Poppy Fields development for older people, 22 family homes in the regeneration of the Bellamy estate, and an estimated 80 homes elsewhere.