The Revd Giles Kendall, vicar of St. Mary’s, Kingswinford, will move into his new home next week – the first vicarage in the country to be built to the two highest environmental standards.
The eco-vicarage meets both the UK’s Code 6 for building sustainable homes and the German Passivhaus standard, which means the carbon generated during manufacture and when the house is lived in is kept to a minimum.
The Kingswinford vicarage is one of two in the Diocese of Worcester which are being built to a completely green specification. They have been built from low carbon materials, for example recycled aggregate concrete blocks for the walls and a slate roof, and are designed to require the minimum amount of energy to run. There is no central heating boiler, the heat is provided by solar gain and that generated by the occupants. Hot water is provided by solar panels on the roof and electricity by electricity generating panels. There is also be a rainwater collection system for the toilets and outside taps and the landscaping of each site has been designed from an environmental point of view.
The Kingswinford Rectory will cost around £100 per year to heat and it will have a carbon positive affect on the environment – generating electricity back to the grid. To meet the Passivhaus standard, the house can only use a maximum of 15 watts per square metre of energy, which compares to the average newly built house which will use around 30 or 40 watts per square metre. There are only around half a dozen homes in the UK which meet this standard.
Mark Wild, the Diocesan Surveyor, said: “Putting environmental concerns at the top of the priority list when building new vicarages really demonstrates our commitment to reducing our carbon footprint. These new houses are a positive step forward for house building in this country. We are building houses with the same ethos as the Victorians -we’d like them to be around forever.”
The Revd Giles Kendall said: “I am excited to be part of a bold statement by the church which has commissioned the building of one of the greenest houses in Europe. The church is affirming a faithful stewardship of God’s creation and supporting the world’s poorer nations by reducing harmful carbon emissions from one of its properties. It is an example that I hope other institutions and businesses will feel challenged to copy.”
The build of these new vicarages was financed from the sale of existing houses, which were no longer viable as vicarages, both in terms of layout and cost to run. The diocese already has some experience of building in an eco-friendly manner through the development of the Archdeacon of Worcester’s office. This was built as an extension to his home to similarly green specifications. However, the two vicarages will be the first complete houses to be built in this manner.
CNI note:
The Diocese of Worcester is one of 44 dioceses in the Church of England. It covers an area of 671 square miles and includes parishes in the County of Worcestershire, the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, and a few parishes in northern Gloucestershire, south east Wolverhampton and Sandwell.