Units were costing over 拢100,000 more than standard equivalents
A Scottish council鈥檚 plans to build council housing to Passivhaus standards have been paused due to their high costs.
Midlothian Council鈥檚 plan to build 182 green council homes was the largest Passivhaus housing development programme in Scotland and would have helped it towards achieving net zero by 2030.
But a recent report to councillors on recent builds and ongoing sites showed the Passivhaus homes were costing significantly more than ordinary homes.
Passivhaus homes in Dalkeith and Newbattle were costing more than 拢300,000 each, while in Newtongrange, where homes were being built to a non Passivhaus standard, homes were coming in at an estimated 拢183,000 per unit.
The report to councillors said: 鈥淧assivhaus is an internationally known standard with exceptionally high energy efficiency working to achieve buildings close to Zero Carbon and in turn address fuel poverty issue in a time of ever-increasing fuel bills.鈥�
>> Take a dive into the UK鈥檚 first Passivhaus leisure centre
Stuart McKenzie, an SNP councillor who is the administration鈥檚 housing spokesperson, moved a motion which called for a pause on any future development commitments using Passivhaus standards.
Councillors agreed to the resolution, with future developments to be paused until a report could be brought to members with more information on the matter.
1 Readers' comment