The initial phases will see 112 homes built for Pobl (private sale and shared ownership), with the remainder then intended to be rental homes managed by Tirion Homes.

The scheme has received £7m funding from the Welsh Government’s Innovative Housing Programme and, when complete, will deliver low energy systems for the entire site via Sero Energy’s Home Energy Management service, helping to build a sustainable community.

For Pobl Group, Parc Eirin builds on the success of Loftus Garden Village: a mixed tenure development in Newport that’s proved universally popular with renters and buyers. Parc Eirin is of a similar scale and will have the added benefit of the energy efficiency enhancements.

Minister for Housing and Local Government Julie James said:

“Our investment has helped to create 225 beautiful and efficient affordable homes and will contribute to wider regeneration work going on locally in Tonyrefail.

“This project is a response to the Welsh Government’s challenge to find innovative ways to reduce the impact of carbon emissions in the domestic sector, eradicate fuel poverty and deliver long-term affordable housing. The homes at Parc Eirin won’t have any gas so they’ll have batteries, solar PVs, ground source heat pumps and super-fast car chargers. They will be extremely innovative and should significantly reduce the amount people spend on their bills.

“We want to support our towns to ensure they are attractive, vibrant places for people to live, work and visit – and I was pleased to see the development plans and hope the residents will be happy in their new homes.

“Creating more good quality affordable housing in and around our town centres, so people can live and work centrally and contribute to the local economy, is a priority for this Government – and will help towards our commitment to build 20,000 affordable homes during this Assembly term.”

Rhys Parry, Director of Development, East, at Pobl Group, commented: “Parc Eirin is an ambitious and innovative scheme, building on the success of recent developments to creating modern affordable homes where they are needed. With a combination on site of shared ownership, Help to Buy & open market sales, we are delivering on Pobl’s promise to invest over £100m in new homes over a five-year period.”

David Ward, CEO of Tirion Homes, said: “Tirion Homes are delighted to be collaborating with Welsh Government, Pobl, Sero Energy and Morganstone on this ground-breaking development. We believe, this development points to the future in terms of providing high quality, mixed tenure housing with a focus on energy efficiency. The Welsh Government assistance is providing critical stimulus in proving that we will be able deliver energy positive housing without grant in the very near future. This will form a cornerstone of Tirion Home’s development strategy going forward.”

James Williams, managing director, Sero Energy said: “Decarbonising homes and addressing the net zero carbon emissions target set by the Welsh Government requires a dramatic change in our approach to energy in housing. Parc Eirin will provide a demonstrable blueprint for this agenda; leading the way in showing how we can reduce both carbon emissions and the cost of energy to residents.”

Chris Thomas, Construction Director, Morganstone commented: “Morganstone are delighted to be principle contractor on such an innovative and exciting development. As the Project Director on Parc Eirin, I can speak for everybody at Morganstone in saying that we are delighted to be involved with such an ambitious and remarkable scheme that will change the way that we look at building houses.

“Decarbonisation, fuel poverty and energy independence are core considerations for our client group, and we look forward to working with Pobl Group, Tirion Homes and Sero Energy on such a cutting-edge development.”

The 15-acre site Parc Eirin site is situated about 2.5km south of Gilfach Goch and 3km west of Tonyrefail, at the head of the Ely Valley.