The Mayor of Chichester, Councillor Tony French, has opened the pioneering new low carbon Energy Centre at Graylingwell Park.

The Energy Centre is the first combined heat and power plant to contribute as much as 37 per cent towards securing Level 6 Energy of the Code for Sustainable Homes at a residential development.  The gas-powered Energy Centre will provide heating and hot water for all 750 homes at Graylingwell Park, while also supplying electricity to the National Grid.

It has been developed and delivered by Regeneco, part of the Galliford Try Group, who will undertake the energy services on behalf of the Graylingwell Park Partnership. Regeneco will operate, manage and maintain the Energy Centre and the associated infrastructure on a 25-year contract.  

The Mayor of Chichester, Councillor Tony French, says: "I'm very proud to officially open the Energy Centre at Graylingwell Park; this is an important scheme for Chichester and we're particularly proud that it's leading the way in delivering this type of energy efficient development. Our congratulations go to all the partners and the way they have consulted and listened to the local residents in shaping both the homes and the amenities that the development is providing."

The Energy Centre, which adjoins the historic water tower, comprises four 1.1 megawatt hot water boilers, two 500 kilowatt combined heat and power engines and two 48,000 litre thermal stores. Heat and hot water is centrally stored before it is pumped around the development through an 8km network of highly insulated underground pipes, thereby removing the need for residents to own their own boilers, eliminating the associated maintenance costs. Instead, each home is fitted with a meter that is connected to the heat exchanger and automatically records and delivers data on the amount of heat and hot water that has been used. This is then added to the fixed service charge and calculated into a monthly bill.

If there is a fault with any part of the Energy Centre, an alarm is automatically generated through various channels of communication including text message and email and is sent to Regeneco, who will ensure any issues are rectified within stipulated timescales.

For more information on the homes available for private sale call Linden Homes on 01243 781494.

For more information on the homes available on a part buy/part rent basis contact Affinity Sutton on 0300 100 0303 or email sales@affinitysutton.com.

The rain didn't stop play for the 500 visitors who attended the Summer Garden Party at Graylingwell Park, when over £1200 was raised for the British Heart Foundation.

The action-packed day was organised for people living in and around Graylingwell Park and those in Chichester itself and included a variety of lawn games, a tug of war competition, welly-wanging and zorbing. There was plenty of summer food and drink and live music kept everyone entertained. The partnership behind Graylingwell Park hosted the day, which will become an annual event.

Steve Bangs, Managing Director of Linden Homes, says: "The day presented a wonderful opportunity for the whole community to get together, strengthening the link between Graylingwell Park and the city.  The event proved so successful, with lots of positive feedback from those who joined us on the day, that we have decided to form a Summer Garden Party committee so residents at Graylingwell Park and people living in the wider area can have 'hands on' involvement in the organisation of future events."

Preston Davies, area manager for British Heart Foundation, says: "We are delighted with the turn out and would like to thank the Graylingwell partnership and British Heart Foundation staff members for all their hard word in ensuring the event was a great success and for raising so much money on the day for the charity."

Have a peek at our video to see our giant organic logo being built!

We are proud to see that Lynn Walter, Assistant Head of Housing in the south for Affinity Sutton put her acting skills to the test recently! Lynn joined the Chichester Festival Youth Theatre for the first read through of The Firework Maker's Daughter, which will be performed in the grounds of the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum from 30^th July to 12^th August. Lynn commented  "I loved joining in the first read through of The Firework Maker's Daughter, but would like to reassure the cast I have decided not to give up my day job!  The actors, musicians, puppeteers, technical and creative teams are preparing a truly spectacular piece of summertime theatre; this is a great start to Graylingwell Park's sponsorship and I'm looking forward to seeing some of the other productions that our sponsorship will help."

During her visit, Lynn learned all about the design of the production, which includes some wonderful puppets whose youthful operators will be trained by the internationally renowned puppeteer Toby Ollie.  Lynn also had the chance to try out her acting skills under the watchful eye of Dale Rooks, Youth Theatre Director.

The city centre fête event with its roaming market traders handing out free goodies, street performers and free rickshaw rides to the site ensured that the launch of Graylingwell Park was a success with a difference.  Lots of exciting activities happened on site and around Chichester city centre on Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st March, with over 500 visitors who turned up over the weekend.

We're proud of our brand new Marketing Suite, with it's inspiring 'pods' which were at the centre of the action, allowing visitors to experience and learn about the homes, community and eco facts about Graylingwell Park. The day's celebrations were rounded off with a spectacular firework display and hog roast on Havenstoke Park...ending the evening with an unforgettable bang.

We'd like to thank the Swallow Bakery and The Sussex Hog Roast Company for their scrumptious food and kind help with the celebrations. This was just a taster of the exciting events to follow over the coming years.

Have a peek at our video for a taster of the launch weekend's events.