WEST
MIDL
ANDS
CO
MP
AN
YG
UIDE35
Go
fo
rg
reen
By
An
dr
ew
Co
we
n
These
are
interesti
ng
times
to
be
working
in
the
building
development
busines
s.
Wi
th
the
green
agenda
at
the
heart
of
society
,s
ustain-
ability
is
driving
all
new
projects.
Nowhere
is
this
more
keenly
felt
than
in
the
urban
regeneration
field
and,
in
Birming
-
ham,
it8217
sb
ig
news.
City
livin
gi
saw
ell-established
concept
and
the
idea
has
come
al
ong
way
since
its
early
days
around
the
canal
basin.
New
legislation
states
that
homes
must
be
carbon
zero
by
the
year
2016,
although
some
forward-thinking
companies
are
well
ahead
of
that
deadline.
The
key-word
is
sustainability
,a
lthough
this
concept
is
huge
and
works
on
many
lev-
els.
It8217
sah
olistic
approach
to
development
but,
being
in
such
ac
ompetitive
industry
,i
t
also
has
to
be,
first
and
formost,
profitable.
To
achiev
et
his,
developers
must
incorpo-
rate
many
aspects
from
the
very
inception
of
ap
roject
and
careful
planning
is
vital
if
tar
-
gets
are
to
be
met.
Steven
Byrne
is
chief
executive
of
MCD
Developments,
one
of
the
leading
companies
operating
in
the
urban
regeneration
field.
MCD
is
behind
some
of
the
Midlands8217
most
striking
projects,
including
Brindley
House,
Derwent
Foundry
and
Wa
ter
Street
in
Birmingham,
and
Earlsdon
Park
in
Cov-
entry
.
The
company
also
is
spearheadin
gt
he
re-
birth
of
Essex
County
Cricket
Ground
in
Chelmsford.
Steven
admits
there8217
sn
oe
asy
definition
of
sustainability
as,
by
its
very
nature,
it8217
sa
site-
speci
fic
conce
pt,
alth
ough
certain
prin-
cipl
es
are
comm
on
with
all
proje
cts.
8220It8217
sa
lways
the
first
consideratio
nw
hen
you
start
ap
roject,8221
he
says.
8220There
are
things
we
always
take
into
ac-
count
when
tackling
sustainability
.A
ny
project
must
be
judged
in
terms
of
its
lon-
gevity
and
the
af
fects
on
the
local
commu-
nity
,f
or
example.
8220W
ea
lways
look
at
the
life
cycle
of
a
building
and
its
impact
on
aw
ider
level,
in-
ternationally
and
globally
.T
his
means
think-
ing
about
where
you
source
your
material
s,
making
sure
they
can
be
replenished
locally
so
that
the
distance
they
are
transported
is
as
small
as
possible.
8220W
ec
onsider
longevity
and
whether
the
building
is
fit
for
purpose
for
its
life-cycle
.
Maintenance
and
repair
are
also
vital.
8220There
is
no
quick
fix
and,
in
this
busi-
ness,
you
really
do
reap
what
you
sow
.8221
For
MCD
who
specialise
in
big
schemes,
this
means
thinking
big.
For
example,
work
is
now
underway
on
the
1631
10
million
rede-
velopment
of
the
former
City
College
Site
at
the
Butts
in
Coventry
.
The
finished
article
will
provide
500
apartments,
commercial
space,
leisure
facili-
ties
and
cafe
bars.
Continued
page
36
Th
er
ea
re
things
we
alw
ay
s
take
in
to
ac
co
un
t
when
tack
ling
sustainabilit
y.
An
y
pr
ojec
tm
ust
be
judged
in
te
rm
so
fi
ts
longevit
ya
nd
the
aff
ec
ts
on
the
local
co
mmunit
y,
fo
re
x
ample
Stev
en
By
rn
e,
chief
ex
ecutiv
e
of
MCD
De
ve
lopmen
ts
8220
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