Stewart Milne wins innovation award

Stewart Milne Group's much publicised 5-star environmental home, built at the Building Research Establishment at Watford, has brought them the "Best Innovation in Technology Award".

The "Housebuilding Innovation Awards", devised by the Housebuilding Federation, were held at the Millennium Mayfair Hotel in London and hosted by Michael Portillo.

The Stewart Milne Group built the UK's first low carbon house that met the Government's criteria for environmental and sustainable homes. The Sigma Home was designed and created to meet this requirement but also takes cognizance of commercial viability to achieve 5 star rating.

John Slater, Group managing director - Homes, said: "We saw the creation of our "Sigma Home" as an investment in the future and a way of advancing tomorrow's homes. The environment represents one of the greatest challenges to our industry and the Government have put in place legislation that means all new homes have to meet specified environmental standards by 2016. We are delighted to receive this award and we will continue to invest in R&D as an ongoing process aimed at delivering zero carbon homes ahead of the Government's deadline."

The Stewart Milne Group has just declared a record set of results for the eleventh year in a row and is looking to acquire further operations in England to add to its recently launched Manchester base.