DEFRA IS FIRST TENANT FOR GROUNDBREAKING ECO-FRIENDLY ST JAMES DEVELOPMENT AT BARRACK STREET

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has this week signed a lease for office space on the St James Development site in Norwich. The site is being redeveloped by its long established Norwich-based owner Jarrold. Defra will move staff into a 3,000 sq metre building, the first to be constructed on the site as part of a wider mixed use regeneration package. The building will be the first commercial development in Norwich to be built to the exacting BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) Excellent standard. Defra staff will move in by the Autumn of 2008. Construction work is due to commence early this year.

BREEAM is regarded by the UK's construction and property sectors as the measure of best practice in environmental design and management. BREEAM for Offices is the world's most widely used means of reviewing and improving the environmental performance of office buildings.

David Hill, Chairman of Jarrold, said:

“We are very pleased that Defra will be our first tenants in the St James Development. It’s fitting that the Government department responsible for meeting the challenge of climate change should set exacting environmental standards for its own estate. This development will re-invigorate the city, provide a high quality working environment and act as a catalyst for regeneration of the whole area. And it will do so in a way that minimises energy use and emissions. It’s a win-win for Norwich.”

Councillor Steve Morphew, leader of Norwich Council, said:

"Norwich is one of the Country's most environmentally ambitious cities. This is a flagship building and thanks to this new development we will retain jobs and make Norwich a centre for government jobs in the future. We are determined that future construction projects in the city are built to the same exacting standards of these designs."

The building is designed to incorporate leading green technology. This should result in a 17% energy saving and 70% water saving. Specific measures will include:

- A solar collector to provide the building’s hot water requirements

- A rainwater recycling system and water efficient fittings, which will reduce water usage by two thirds

- A natural ventilation system, which consumes no electricity and requires little maintenance. This will lower costs, reduce the carbon footprint of the building and improve the comfort of people who work in it.

- An earth duct air cooling system this provides natural cooling of the building, reducing energy consumption and the need for manufactured refrigerants that contribute to global warming.

Additional measures will be explored throughout the design and build process. The building will be set in generous planted open areas in a riverside park accessible to all.

The new office is the first phase of a regeneration package planned by Jarrold, one of the longest established businesses in Norwich. In all, the redeveloped St James Development will include: 200 homes, 60 of which will be affordable housing 20,500 sq m of office space, with the capacity to accommodate 2,000 jobs up to 1,500 sq m for shops, restaurants and cafes cycle routes and footpaths a pedestrian bridge across the river an hotel an urban square and extensive green landscaping and amenity space.

Phase 1 of the development, of which the Defra building is part, will include a further office building of approx. 3,700 sq. metres, for which strong interest has been received. According to David Harvey of Jarrold’s agents Harvey & Co:

“Norwich companies are responding very positively to the opportunity to relocate within the city centre to an area in which the natural and built environment will be of the highest quality. For several years, the supply of modern offices in central Norwich has been extremely limited but the interest generated demonstrates that the city centre remains the location of choice for many organisations.

We are confident the St James Development will establish a new business quarter in the city centre. 2,320 sq. m. in the remainder of the first phase is under offer to a well known East Anglian professional practice and we are negotiating with various other prospective tenants from a range of sectors. It is hoped further relocations can be announced shortly.”

For further press information contact:

Jarrold

Jon Bennett, Linstock Communications

T: 07766 991 938

E: jon@linstockcommunications.com

Norwich City Council

Nikki Rotsos, Director of Communications

T: 01603 212211

E: nikki.rotsos@norwich.gov.uk