Plans to construct the UK's lowest carbon office building in Greater Manchester have been approved.
Bruntwood is behind the proposals for The Ev0 Building which will be located at Didsbury Technology Park.
The £31m development's main feature is its mass timber frame. The design is centred on the use of timber because of the material's ability to capture and store carbon, ensuring it is not released back into the atmosphere until the end of its lifespan.
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This process is known as sequestration, with Ev0's timber frame predicted to store 4,000 tonnes of carbon, the equivalent of 2,500 return flights from Manchester to New York.
The building will feature a gym, café, customer lounge, cycle storage and event space.
The plans were first revealed in May 2022 and will include space for around 955 employees.
Commercial director Andrew Butterworth said: "As we continue to work towards our net zero goals, it’s incredibly exciting to gain planning approval for Ev0, a development which has been a major part of our sustainability plans for a number of years.
"Property companies across the UK promote their developments as ‘best’ for various reasons, without openly releasing their supporting figures in the public domain.
"We have the evidence to substantiate Ev0’s sustainability credentials, and are openly publishing and updating data online to support this.
"Across our business, we’re taking a holistic approach to achieving net zero, putting the onus on reducing our emissions by transitioning to clean energy, improving biodiversity and green spaces, building and fitting out with sustainable or recycled materials, moving to a net zero vehicle fleet, reducing and reusing waste, and lessening water consumption, and we’re actively supporting our customers, partners and suppliers to achieve similar milestones.
"As a market-leader, Ev0 will support businesses using the workspace to meet their own net zero goals and serve as a blueprint for future development. We’re looking forward to getting underway and creating this new sustainably-minded community."
Ev0 will provide 82,549 sq ft of workspace over six floors and sit between Sir William Siemens House, Spire Hospital and Bruntwood Works’ Ohm Building.
The project is being supported by architect Sheppard Robson, MEP, structural and sustainability consultants Ramboll, planning consultants Deloitte Real Estate, fire and risk engineers OFR Consultants, quantity surveyor Turner & Townsend and project management specialists Ward Williams Associates (WWA).
Neal Allen-Burt, partner at Sheppard Robson, said: "Ev0 presents an exciting opportunity to ask - and to answer - the key questions that must be addressed to make zero carbon a reality.
"The project engages with the challenges and opportunities presented by the increasing push to reach net zero carbon, with our design showing there is no 'silver bullet' for achieving this and we will get there by having the dexterity to apply numerous solutions."
JLL and CBRE are the lettings agents for the building. Mark Garner, associate director at CBRE, said: "This planning approval represents a big step forward for sustainable real estate, not only for The Ev0 Building but the wider regional market.
"We’re receiving more and more requirements from occupiers looking to secure the most environmentally friendly workspace and Ev0 will more than cater for these. We can’t wait to see the timber frame go up, which is due to be the first of its kind in the region."
Works are targeted to start on site in autumn 2023 and complete in late 2024.
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