Midlothian Council walks the walk!

Midlothian Council is set to deliver Scotland's largest Passivhaus housing programme to date. The ambitious scheme consists of 182 council homes across multiple sites aiming for Passivhaus certification, with more in the pipeline. All of the homes will be council homes for social rent.

Key drivers for aiming for Passivhaus certification include:

Addressing fuel poverty
Minimise operational energy
Reduce carbon emissions

I am very proud to say Midlothian Council is at the forefront of making sure our council tenants can live in affordable, warm and energy efficient homes, which is good news for them – especially as we are all facing soaring utility bills – while helping us towards our ambition of being a carbon neutral council by 2030.

Councillor Stephen Curran, Cabinet member for Housing, Midlothian Council

Projects

Newbattle, Dalkeith

No.of units: 90

Project stage: Planning permission granted

Key team: Smith Scott Mullan Associates (Architects & Passivhaus Designers)

Newbattle Housing plans, Midlothian Council. Image credit: Smith Scott Mullan

Polton St, Bonnyrigg

No.of units: 46 inc Extra Care

Project stage: Planning

Key team: Collective Architecture (Architects)

Polton Street, Midlothian Council. Image credit: Collective Architecture

Burnbrae, Bonnyrigg

No.of units: 20

Project stage: On site

Key team: Smith Scott Mullan Associates (Architects & Passivhaus Designers), Fleming Buildings (Contractors & timber frame)

Burnbrae Road Midlothian Council. Image credit: Smith Scott Mullan Associates-

Buccleuch Street, Dalkeith

No.of units: 6

Project stage: On site

Key team: Smith Scott Mullan Associates (Architects & Passivhaus Designers), Morris & Spottiswood (Contractors)

Buccleuch Street, Dalkeith Image credit: Smith Scott Mullan

High Street, Bonnyrigg

No. of units: 20

Project stage: On site

Key Team: AHR (Architects & Passivhaus Designers)

High Street Bonnyrigg. Image credit: AHR

Newton Church Road, Danderhall

No. of units: Up to 24

Project stage: Early design stage

Not stopping at housing, Midlothian Council has also just announced plans to build its replacement Beeslack Community High School to the Passivhaus standard.

Net Zero Housing Design Guide

Midlothian Council Roadmap to Passivhaus. Image credit: Midlothian Council

The Council’s Net Zero Housing Design Guide (March 2022) seeks to address operational energy and the performance gap in new build projects, as part of the council’s ambitious aspiration to become net zero by 2030. It sets Passivhaus standard for new council buildings from 2022, with Passivhaus Plus being adopted in 2024 and Passivhaus Premium in 2028.

The design guide is a briefing document for all council new build residential projects and is a reference base. It incorporates national planning and policy guidance and provides user-friendly checklist tools to be adopted by all designers and architects delivering the council’s projects.

Building to Passivhaus standard for our new homes supports the step change towards lower energy bills, improved comfort all year round and contributes towards reducing emissions to address climate change. Importantly it provides a pathway for Midlothian to underpin Scotland’s growth in the green economy and jobs whilst supporting an inclusive community approach.

Professor Sean Smith, Director of the Centre for Future Infrastructure, University of Edinburgh’s Edinburgh Futures Institute