Leading Scottish designer, manufacturer and installer of high performance windows and doors, CMS Window Systems, has helped Fife Council hit a significant milestone in its Affordable Housing Programme with their collaboration to deliver windows and doors for 31 new build homes in Orebank Terrance, Thornton.
Working in partnership with local architect firm Sinclair Watts, CMS’s wealth of experience in the social housing sector saw them awarded the contract for the manufacture and installation of A-rated PVCu windows plus supply and fit high-performance composite doors for Orebank Terrace.
The development forms part of Fife Council’s Affordable Housing Programme, which aims to create 2,700 new affordable homes for Fife by 2017. The completion of the Orebank Terrace development is a noteworthy milestone for Fife Council, as it signifies that the halfway point in the programme has now been reached.
Located in the village of Thornton, 15 minutes north of Kirkcaldy, the 31 new homes for rent at Orebank Terrace range in size from one bedroom to five, comprising a mixture of bungalows, two-storey houses and cottage flats and including disability-adapted and wheelchair-accessible facilities. The homes offer comfortable and affordable accommodation for social housing tenants: housing officials at Fife Council were keen for the development to be well integrated with the existing housing in Thornton, contributing to a more balanced community in the village whilst ensuring that tenants with additional needs would be able to live independently.
CMS’s decade of experience in delivering public sector glazing projects involving windows which offer low U-values and high energy efficiency made it the ideal firm to take on the project: due to the nature of the housing needs the development was intended to meet, fuel economy and energy efficiency were particularly high priority concerns for Orebank Terrace.
CMS began work on site in April 2015, with the long term aim of providing windows and doors which will ultimately minimise the buildings’ running costs, and therefore diminish residents’ risk of fuel poverty. CMS’s PVCu casement windows were the ideal solution: with enviable air tightness ratings and U-values well below the industry maximum, they help to significantly reduce heat transfer, allowing residents to heat their homes at a much lower comparative cost. The windows and doors were all A-rated for energy efficiency and security certified by the police-approved Secured by Design initiative.
Smooth integration of the development into the local area was a concern amongst some local people. However, the homes in Orebank Terrace were designed to complement the style of houses in neighbouring streets, incorporating colours, design features and finishing materials used throughout other Thornton residences such as grey and terracotta tiled roofs. The white-framed windows and sleek composite doors installed by CMS were chosen to align with the local aesthetic, allowing the development to fit seamlessly into Thornton’s residential landscape.
The Orebank Terrace development was officially completed in March, with the first residents beginning their tenancy in recent weeks. Reactions to the new houses have been very positive: Maria McKenzie, who recently moved into her new Orebank Terrace home, said: “Since moving in I feel very settled. The house is more fuel efficient and being on two levels instead of three is so much easier to manage. The street is very attractive and it’s a pleasant place to live with great neighbours and beautiful surroundings.”
Andy Kerr, Managing Director at CMS, said: “Being appointed to play a key part in Orebank Terrace’s development, along with a number of other Affordable Housing Programme projects, allows us to make a significant contribution to helping Fife Council deliver better quality housing. We hope the new residents of Orebank Terrace are delighted with the comfort, security and fuel economy of their new homes.”
Based at Castlecary near Glasgow, CMS Window Systems works extensively with Fife Council and numerous other councils and housing associations across the UK. Its range of PVCu windows and doors is manufactured using UK-made, 100% lead free PVCu profile. This delivers installed products which combine the highest window energy ratings (WERs) with long term weather performance, superb aesthetics and minimal maintenance. In addition, all CMS windows and doors are fully recyclable at the end of their long service life.
