100 new affordable homes to mark a century of Salford as a city

Willohaus, a collection of 100 affordable, Passivhaus Classic certified homes, has welcomed its first residents, marking a major milestone for Crescent Salford and the wider city as it celebrates 100 years since being granted city status.

The new high-quality homes are the first to be completed in Adelphi Village, one aspect of the Crescent Salford masterplan being delivered by Salford City Council, the University of Salford and ECF, a partnership between Homes England, L&G and Muse. Salix Homes is the housing partner for Willohaus and we own and manage the new homes.

Designed to Passivhaus standards, residents of the one and two-bedroomed apartments will benefit from significantly reduced energy bills compared to traditional housing.

Passivhaus homes also provide greater comfort and quality through highly effective heating and ventilation systems to ensure apartments remain comfortable in summer and warm in winter. This is achieved through a whole-building approach to efficient, high‑quality construction, which is independently tested, verified and certified by the Passivhaus Institute.

There are storage facilities for 89 bikes to promote active and sustainable travel for residents, in addition to a small number of on-site accessible parking spaces. Willohaus also includes four wheelchair accessible apartments on the ground floor, and a tenure mix of 30 apartments for social rent and 70 for affordable rent. All features have been incorporated to help foster a more sustainable and inclusive community.

Designed by Buttress Architects and built by Eric Wright Construction, Willohaus on Peru Street, Salford, is the second Passivhaus collection of homes to be delivered by ECF and Salix Homes, following the success of Greenhaus, Chapel Street, which completed in 2024 and was the largest Passivhaus affordable housing scheme in the North West.

Following the completion of Willohaus, work has begun on 42 new townhouses and 185 apartments at Farmer Norton and plans have been approved for a further 263 homes as the new Adelphi Village neighbourhood takes shape.

Simon Hourihan, project director at ECF, said: “As we celebrate 100 years since Salford achieved city status, it’s only fitting that, as a partnership, we deliver 100 new, highly sustainable, high‑quality homes.

“Willohaus is the first of many new residential buildings coming to Crescent Salford. Through features such as optimised air quality, these homes are designed to support physical and mental wellbeing and foster a healthier living environment.

“By combining high environmental performance with affordable rents, we are helping to make Crescent Salford a place where people from a wide variety of backgrounds can live, work, and thrive. This is a significant milestone for Crescent Salford and for our city as we strive to achieve our long‑term commitment to sustainable and inclusive growth.”

Salford City Mayor, Paul Dennett, commented: “As Salford marks 100 years of city status, the completion of Willohaus is a great example of the kind of future we are building in Salford – one that puts people, opportunity, and sustainability at its heart. These high-quality, energy-efficient homes will not only help residents reduce their living costs but also support healthier, more sustainable lifestyles.

“This milestone reflects the strength of our partnership with ECF and the University of Salford, and our shared commitment to delivering genuinely affordable homes as part of the wider Crescent Salford vision. We are proud to be creating inclusive neighbourhoods where people from all backgrounds can put down roots and thrive for generations to come.”

Liam Turner, Chief Executive at Salix Homes, said: “Willohaus represents another important investment in Salford’s future, providing 100 high-quality, sustainable and affordable homes at a time when demand for housing continues to grow.

“As the city celebrates its centenary year, it feels particularly poignant that the first residents are moving into homes that have been designed not just for today, but for future generations.

“Building on the success of Greenhaus, Willohaus demonstrates how a shared vision and strong partnership working can deliver high-quality, sustainable homes at scale, creating lasting benefits for residents, communities and the city as a whole.”

John Hartnett, Eric Wright Construction’s managing director, added: “We are proud to have handed over our second Passivhaus residential development, in the heart of Salford, for our long-standing client ECF. 

“Delivering a Passivhaus project is more than just meeting the stringent standards, it’s about creating homes that perform better for the resident every day and our team has built on their already extensive Passivhaus knowledge to achieve outstanding results. This project demonstrates what can be achieved when sustainability, precision and collaboration are integrated from the early stages and continued throughout the construction processes.”

Salix Homes secured grant funding for the development from Homes England and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), alongside its own investment.

The first residents began moving in last month (June) and Salix Homes is supporting them to understand and use the Passivhaus features within their new homes, helping them maximise energy efficiency, comfort and wellbeing.

Willohaus also boasts an EPC A rating for 34 apartments and EPC B for the remaining 66, underscoring its overall energy efficiency and aligning with the Government’s target for all rented homes to reach a minimum EPC C rating by 2030. This demonstrates the growing importance of delivering high-performing, low-energy buildings and reflects ECF’s commitment to creating future-ready, net-zero places that maximise social benefits while enhancing the environment for both current and future generations.

Adelphi Village is just one aspect of the Crescent Salford masterplan, which will deliver more than 3,000 new homes, state-of-the-art facilities, enhanced green spaces and improved infrastructure to create a vibrant place for people to live, work, study and thrive.