SmartLIFE
Cambridge, East of England, UK

PROJECT TEAM & PARTNERS

• SmartLIFE Lead Partner: Cambridgeshire County Council
• SmartLIFE associate partners UK: Cambridge Regional College,
• Fenland District Council,
• South Cambridgeshire District Council,
• Learning & Skills Council Cambridgeshire,
• Jobcentre Plus,
• Construction Industry Training Board (CITB),
• Building Research Establishment (BRE),
• Community Self-Build Agency,
• SmartLIFE International partners in Hamburg, Germany and Malmö, Sweden.

CONTRACT VALUE
Total for SmartLIFE Project approx. €12.5m

FUNDING
ERDF Interreg IIIB North Sea Programme €4.6 Euro: UK €2.6 million, Germany €1.2 million, Sweden €0.8 million. Other funding includes: €3.3 million incl. EEDA

TIMESCALE
October 2003 - June 2007

DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT

SmartLIFE is a European Union and Department for Communities and Local Government Growth Area-funded project, led by Cambridgeshire County Council with project partners in Hamburg (Germany) and Malmö (Sweden).
The project's primary objective is to facilitate sustainable growth in each of the partner regions. Other aims included:

• Setting up state-of-the-art business centres and training facilities in each partner country to establish a transnational network of sustainable development hubs and develop local/regional knowledge on sustainability and renewable energy
• Designing and delivering training programmes on the use of modern methods of construction (MMC) and sustainability
• Engaging in community outreach work to influence the region; transferring experience on self-build
• Sharing good practice on training, construction and development; and developing a coordinated approach to sustainable growth area management
• Development of affordable housing using MMC in the UK

SmartLIFE has achieved its aims and objectives to deliver innovative/strategic solutions to sustainable growth areas by raising skills level of the target population through training and promoting awareness of MMC.

The projects key themes and findings have been disseminated to key figures and organisations that have an influence over the region and the County. For example results can be fed in to organisations developing Northstowe (a new town located in Cambridgeshire) which will house 6,000 people by 2016. The work SmartLIFE has done, in terms of training and working towards a low carbon economy has particular importance in contributing to regional policies, spreading wider in to neighbouring counties and regions.

LEGISLATION

Housing targets and sustainability targets - 2004

CHALLENGES FACED

The International SmartLIFE partner organisations are all located in regions facing challenges relating to growth and development. In all three partner countries the rate of new house building is too low to satisfy demand. Each region also has a strong desire to encourage sustainability as the way forward to manage growth. By establishing vocational training centres, showcasing projects completed or underway, and conducting intensive research into best-practice construction techniques in all three regions, SmartLIFE will help to answer the urgent need for housing to cope with the rising population in urbanised northwest Europe.
Cambridgeshire is under enormous growth pressures and has been designated a growth area by the UK Government. Building new homes and facilities to match the residential development will place equal pressure on land, energy and resources. It is important for SmartLIFE to demonstrate that increased development and growth does not necessarily go hand in hand with wasting valuable resources. The project demonstrates to the local community how energy efficiency can be incorporated in to new build and residential developments built within the Cambridge Sub-region.
The project is helping residents in Cambridgeshire with social or economic disadvantages including the poorer area to the north of Cambridge city itself. The project addresses the affordability of housing for the less well off in the county and will encourage investment in the form of a new factory in the Fenland area. Initially 80 affordable housing units have been built and the principles derived from this pilot will be rolled out more widely.

INNOVATIVE PRACTICE

The Cambridge-based centre is a showcase for environmental consideration. Features include a ground source heat pump, 6kW wind turbine and solar thermal hot water heating system. Working at minimum capacity these features generate 38% of the new building's energy requirements. The building was completed in March 2006.

SmartLIFE has been innovative in the regional context of Cambridgeshire due to the wide ranging issues in sustainability it has addressed. SmartLIFE is delivering a total solution - training, education, marketing (including focus groups into what people want), innovative design solutions, and building industry-leading, affordable demonstration homes.

SmartLIFE has raised the profile of renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainability, modern methods of construction and has identified local perceptions of growth area opportunities and acceptance of 'modern methods of construction'.

This project has demonstrated an innovative approach to developing specialist professional skills in the field of sustainable and modern methods of construction. There are now 3 networked centers in the North Sea region which exchange best practice and work together on a continuing basis.

LESSONS LEARNT

The partnership worked with other partners and stakeholders to establish a future of SmartLIFE beyond the initial three-year project. The SmartLIFE Centre in Cambridge will be a self-financing entity and is looking at applying the SmartLIFE approach to other sectors.

Experiences have and are continuing to be exchanged and a number of initiatives are already in place to take forward work already started. Steady growth in activities across the SmartLIFE Centres has laid foundations for continued revenue generation. These fall within four areas:
• Focus for debate/meeting place for professional/industry lead bodies
• Talks (involving speakers from all three countries)
• Cultural and continuing information exchange (Tutors/Students)
• Training programmes

The SmartLIFE project has made changes locally, regionally and internationally. At the strategic level SmartLIFE results are embedded and intrinsic in policies and guidance and strategies at a high political level. The UK, Sweden and Germany have all developed individual business plans for their individual SmartLIFE Centres.

PROJECT TARGETS
SmartLIFE has a BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) rating of 'Very Good' under Bespoke Assessment.

The project had achieved all desired outputs, results and impacts. A selection included:

Target indicators	Target	Final
SmartLIFE European Business Centre set up and operating	3	3
Exhibitions promoting SmartLIFE	9	14
Number of training courses run	48	76
Community outreach initiatives run	60	64
Number of trainees completing construction courses	2500	2522
Number of people reached through outreach	1000	1974
People involved in focus groups	45	61
Number of self-build units stared	30	32

SmartLIFE delivered a robust communication programme. High-profile events, conferences, seminars and exhibitions were useful tools to promote new skills and modern techniques in the construction industry.

CONTACT DETAILS
David Arkell, Cambridgeshire County Council,
Tel: +44 (0) 1223 715941

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