A west country building contractor has been shortlisted in a UK wide green building awards scheme. The company has been nominated for Blake's Hill, at north Littleton, near Evesham. Speller Metcalfe are based at the Enigma Business Park in Malvern. The company is well known for its green projects and has reached the final stages in the sustainable new housing project of the year category in the Sustainable Housing Awards 2014, organised by Inside Housing magazine. Blake's Hill is one the UK’s greenest affordable housing schemes, at North Littleton, near Evesham.

The development of 10 houses, built for Rooftop Housing Group, has met the highest sustainable accreditation available for domestic homes – Code for Sustainable Homes level six – and is one of the first affordable housing schemes in the UK to achieve this.

The properties are all zero carbon, meaning they produce no carbon emissions and energy bills are significantly lower than the national average at around £345 per year. Other features include rooftop PV panels, harvesting rainwater for gardens and a shared allotment for all tenants to enjoy.

The Sustainable Housing Awards put the spotlight on the best green social housing projects in the UK and the organisations responsible for them. The trophies will be presented at a ceremony hosted by Sir Ranulph Fiennes on Friday, October 17 in London.

Emma Maier, editor of Inside Housing, said: “The awards are in their seventh year, and, once again, we have been inundated with entries from the leading organisations who have been behind the most innovative and impressive projects in the UK. It is a brilliant achievement for Speller Metcalfe and the team responsible for the Blake’s Hill project to be shortlisted in the face of such fierce competition."