Crofts House named Built Environment Decarbonisation Project of the Year
Crofts House, our five-home social-rent scheme delivered with Mid Devon District Council, has won Built Environment Decarbonisation Project of the Year at the inaugural edie Energy & Tech Awards 2026.
On Friday 16 October, edie announced the winners of its first Energy & Tech Awards at a lunchtime ceremony at The Brewery in London. The awards celebrate the technologies and projects powering decarbonisation across the UK.
The Built Environment Decarbonisation Project of the Year award recognises retrofit, refurbishment and new-build projects that have led the way towards a net-zero built environment over the past 18 months. Crofts House stood out because it shows that deep, verified decarbonisation can be delivered where it is arguably needed most: in affordable, socially rented homes on small, difficult brownfield sites.
From contaminated garage court to zero-carbon homes
Crofts House transformed a contaminated former garage court in Sandford, Mid Devon, into five SAP 100 A+ homes for social rent.
It was not an easy site. The team had to deal with ground contamination, overhead cables, retained parking, close neighbours, access roads just 3.7–4.9 m wide, and understandable scepticism in a village that had seen no new development for decades.
Our answer was to fix the performance targets early and protect them all the way through delivery. The scheme was run as a single integrated design-and-build project, with design coordination completed in a shared digital environment before anything went into manufacture. More than 80% of the build value was made in the factory, and the modules were installed on site in just two days, cutting site disruption, waste and transport emissions. Each module also has a QR-coded digital record, so its details stay traceable for the life of the building.
The homes are fossil-fuel-free and built fabric-first: stone-wool insulation, breathable walls, triple glazing with a 60-year design life, air-source heat pumps, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) and roof-mounted solar panels.
Homes that work for the people living in them
These are social-rent homes for households who are most exposed to high running costs, so the carbon savings needed to mean real comfort and lower bills. Every household received a Home User Guide and low-carbon living training, and environmental sensors continue to monitor humidity and air quality to keep the homes healthy.
Residents have described their new homes as peaceful and comfortable, with no overheating, and say they have made a real difference to their daily lives. The scheme received 216 applications for its five homes.
The benefits reach beyond the front door, too. A hard-surfaced garage court is now a permeable, landscaped space with retained trees, new planting and wildlife corridors. The project has a benefit–cost ratio of 5.53:1, equivalent to £6.8m in net social value.
A double celebration
It was a great afternoon all round: our manufacturing partner Dragonheart Homes was also named Upskilling & Training Initiative of the Year for its work through the Ministry of Justice's Prisoners Building Homes programme.
Thank you to edie and the judging panel, to our partners at Mid Devon District Council, and to everyone across our design, factory and site teams who made Crofts House happen.
Read the full list of winners on edie.net.
