• World Environment Day was held on 5th June 2024

• Quintain Living supports renters to make better environmental choices about where they live

• Repton Gardens at Wembley Park offers Quintain Living’s most sustainable homes to date

The United Nations Environment Programme is encouraged individuals to ‘make peace with land’ as World Environment Day 2024 arrived. Held on 5th June, the day is geared this year towards #GenerationRestoration – the idea that, while we cannot turn back the clock, we can do much to revive water sources, grow forests and bring back soils.

In our urban environments, there is also much that can be done to support World Environment Day. In London’s Wembley Park, Quintain Living – the award-winning management company overseeing the rental of over 3,390 apartments – is encouraging Londoners to put sustainability at the heart of their rental home choices.

“Renters increasingly have the power to make better environmental choices about where they live. Developments such as Repton Gardens here in Wembley Park are establishing a new era of sustainable renting. By focusing intensely on sustainability at every stage from design to completion and operation, we are giving residents the power to choose homes that offer a better balance with the environment.”

Danielle Bayless, Chief Operating Officer, Quintain Living

Repton Gardens is Quintain Living’s most sustainable development to date. The design of the 396 award-winning homes to rent embraced sustainability from the outset. Energy consumption was a crucial area of focus, with Repton Gardens featuring centralised ventilation at roof level (which uses less energy than individual fans) and exposed soffits (concrete ceilings) to reduce overheating by exposing the thermal mass and lower the building’s carbon output (compared to traditional style ceilings). Hotel-style risers were also used, in order to reduce corridor overheating, while the balconies on the south-facing side of the development were designed to reduce solar gain. Within the corridors, lights turn off automatically to save energy.

In keeping with its name, greenery was also a major focus at Repton Gardens. Mounded earth in the podium garden allowed for the planting of larger trees to boost biodiversity, attracting plenty of insects and birds, while the development also features extensive indoor planting to boost air quality and wellbeing. Residents have commented that they love the natural feel that this creates. Rainwater is harvested for irrigation, while also serving as a flood impact reduction measure and reducing demand on mains drinking water. Low flow taps, toilets and showers in the apartments also reduce water use.

With waste management and recycling in mind, an Envac system is provided on every floor of Repton Gardens. Residents can sort their waste and recycling easily into chutes that connect to an underground network of pipes, avoiding the need for a conventional waste collection infrastructure. The Envac system was first installed in Wembley Park in 2008 and by 2024 some 5,549 apartments across the neighbourhood had been connected to the system. So far, it has delivered a 30% boost to the local authority’s recycling rates, along with an impressive 90% reduction in refuse lorry emissions, thanks to the vehicles no longer being needed.

As well as taking refuse lorries off the roads, Repton Gardens features a ‘porte cochere’ – a hotel-style delivery bay that removes vans and lorries from the public realm, supporting resident safety. The covered delivery bay also makes it easy for residents to remain protected from the elements when they move in or out of the building – something that has proven to be very useful, given the British climate.

Every element of Repton Gardens, inside and out, was considered in terms of its sustainability credentials. The corridors feature Modulyss carpet, which is designed to be lightweight for reduced carbon emissions during transport and which contains recycled material.

Within individual apartments, everything from furniture to window dressings have been considered through the same sustainability lens. Lined dimout (rather than flock-backed) curtains are recyclable at end of life, as are the aluminium tracks on which they hang. Roller blinds contain at least 80% post-consumer recycled polyester, with three to four 1.5-litre plastic bottles processed per square metre of fabric. Supplier Herbert Parkinson has a stringent zero landfill policy, with recycled fabrics turned into underlay and sold to John Lewis & Partners.

When it came to furnishings, John Lewis & Partners rose to the sustainability challenge admirably at Repton Gardens. The team curated a selection of their most ethical and sustainable products, including furniture made from recycled materials and in zero carbon footprint factories. All site work was paperless and all delivery vans ran on biomethane. Product source locations were carefully chosen to balance reducing transportation emissions with supporting local communities of producers.  The result was that 54% of all furniture and product lines were deemed sustainably, including all sofas, armchairs, barstools, dining benches, mattresses and artworks.

Repton Gardens is also home to Quintain Living’s largest work-from-home provision to date, with ten offices suitable for one to two people each and a large meeting room. In this way, the development supports residents seeking to cut out their commute – while secure cycle storage and easy access to Wembley Park underground station (with its 12-minute connection to central London) ensure those who do need to travel can do so sustainably. 50% of parking spaces also come with an electric car charger.

For the work-from-home suite, The Furniture Practice sourced locally made (UK/EU) desks and chairs made from recycled and recyclable materials. Sofas, meanwhile, have been designed to be refreshed in situ for greater longevity, with removable covers. 

“Creating more sustainable rental homes doesn’t happen overnight. It takes plenty of thought, innovation and collaboration – but the result is more than worth the effort. It provides renters with the choice to stand up for the planet and be proud of how sustainable their homes and lifestyle can be.”

Danielle Bayless, Chief Operating Officer, Quintain Living