The Dale: designing with residents and the planet in mind

• Development type: Retirement Living
• Local authority partner: Sheffield City Council
• Developer: Westshield
• Start on site: July 2024
• Practical completion: July 2026
• Property type: 55 properties for social rent

Our commitment to providing homes that are sustainable and shaped by residents’ needs has been further brought to life with our latest development in South Yorkshire.

Located four miles south of Sheffield City Centre, The Dale is a next generation design-led Retirement Living scheme comprising 42 one-bedroom and 13 two-bedroom social rent apartments. Every single square inch of the site is being developed by regional housebuilder, Westshield, to meet our Design Standards for Retirement Living, which includes our Sustainability Addendum.

This means the scheme, which has been funded by Homes England and is set to be completed in 2026, will incorporate an energy efficient, all electric heating system. In addition, the apartments have been designed to benefit from adequate natural light and ventilation and provide residents with plenty of space – the one-bedroom apartments span 54m2 and the two-bedroom apartments measure 64m2.

As is the case with all our new schemes, taking a fabric first approach at The Dale has enabled us to improve on our current best practice air tightness performance and boost the overall efficiency of the homes. From a day-to-day perspective, this means residents are benefiting from lower energy bills because the surrounding room and floor temperatures are more consistent, reducing the need for residents to have to turn the heating on.