A Thurston-based contractor has opened a landmark sustainable homes project built for Orwell Housing Association.

Seamans Building built 26 affordable family homes at the new Clay Field estate in Elmswell. The houses are believed to be the closest to carbon-zero of any residential project built in the UK to date.

The £3.5 million contract has helped to establish Seamans Building as a leading green contractor, as the Government continues to pursue its 2016 Code for Sustainable Homes targets.

The firm, which employs 65 people, is a member of the National Federation of Builders' (NFB). The NFB represents some 1,500 builders and contractors across England and Wales, providing specialist advice and business services.

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The Federation, lobbies local, national and European government on a range of issues to sustain positive trading conditions for members.

Some of the houses' most innovative features, such as rainwater harvesting and biomass hot water supply, helped earn the project it's listing in the last six as finalists for the 2008 Inside Housing Awards "Sustainable Large Social Housing Project of the Year" award.

The homes were designed by Riches Hawley Mikhail after they triumphed from over 100 entries in a competition launched by the Suffolk Preservation Society and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

Seamans Building has been a member of the NFB for over 30 years and its estimating director Steven Reason is the Federation's Local Association president in Suffolk.

Andrew Percy, Regional Director for the NFB Eastern region, said: "Our industry has an important role to play in helping to tackle the challenges of climate change and finite natural resources, and Seamans work is a fine example of the best practice that we are committed to promoting and supporting."

(CD/JM)