Our Projects

Constructing a Sustainable Future

Our buildings are the legacy we leave for our customers, their communities and future generations. We work with our customers to deliver buildings that conserve natural resources and perform efficiently by design, minimising carbon emissions and the cost of ownership.

From net zero to Passivhaus, we collaborate with customers and supply chain partners to drive down operational carbon, optimise building performance, address whole life carbon, and support user health and wellbeing.

Demand for sustainable buildings continued to grow in 2025, with our pipeline of net zero carbon in operation and Passivhaus projects exceeding £1.45bn.

UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard

Willmott Dixon has been helping to shape the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard (UKNZCBS) since 2022, with our people contributing to key task groups on operational energy and reporting and verification. Developed by the sector's leading professional bodies and independently verified, the Standard provides the UK's built environment with its first unified, evidence-based definition.

In 2025, we shared results from five customer pilots to inform development of the Standard - including Speedwell House in Oxford, Glyn-coch Primary School, Lobslack Nursery and Wixams Willow Tree Primary - feeding back insights. Published in March 2026, Version 1 of the Standard sets clear, evidence-based limits across carbon and energy and requires real-world performance to be verified for the first three years.

Passivhaus

Passivhaus is increasingly the standard of choice for customers seeking the highest levels of building performance and long-term operational efficiency. Through exceptional insulation and airtightness, it dramatically reduces energy demand and, when paired with renewables, is ideally suited to UKNZCBS compliance.

Willmott Dixon is the UK's leading Passivhaus contractor. Our non-domestic Passivhaus portfolio - completed, in construction, and in preconstruction - spans leisure centres, schools, student accommodation, residential schemes and multi-faith facilities.

Hounsome Fields Primary School in Basingstoke is the first of Hampshire County Council's primary schools to target Passivhaus Classic (pic above). Completed in summer 2025, the 420-pupil school, which includes eight specialist SEN places, was designed as a Climate Change Primary School Pilot, assessed against the council's 2050 carbon neutrality target and built to resist overheating and flooding. It is the first of three similar projects setting a new benchmark for sustainable education across the county.

Richard Poulter, Managing Director of Willmott Dixon in the South:

"This isn't just another school – it's proof that Passivhaus principles create learning environments where children and teachers thrive. Following our success with Harris Academy Sutton, which runs at 80% lower costs than conventional schools, Hounsome Fields shows how Hampshire County Council is positioning itself at the forefront of the sustainable schools revolution."

Construction is underway on Glyn-coch Primary School for Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council, due to complete in autumn 2026 (below).

Designed by Stride Treglown and procured via the SEWSCAP framework, Glyn-coch targets Passivhaus Classic, net zero in operation, Building with Nature and BREEAM Outstanding accreditations, making it one of the most comprehensively sustainable school buildings in the UK. It is also the first school in the UK to seek WELL accreditation, which evaluates buildings based on their impact on occupant health and well-being.

One year on from its opening, Eclipse Leisure Centre in Staines-upon-Thames - the UK's first wet/dry Passivhaus leisure centre - received a Royal visit from HRH The Duke of Gloucester in October 2025 (below).

Mayor of Spelthorne, Councillor John Doran, said:

“It’s a vibrant hub for residents of all ages and abilities, and a benchmark for what sustainable public facilities can achieve. Its energy-efficient design not only reduces our carbon footprint but also demonstrates that environmentally responsible choices can deliver long-term financial benefits.”

Net Zero Carbon in Operation

Many customers choose not to pursue full Passivhaus accreditation but instead target highly efficient buildings designed to achieve net zero carbon in operation — incorporating enhanced insulation, optimised building fabric and photovoltaic solar panels. As part of our Now or Never ambition to deliver all new builds and major refurbishments as net zero by 2030, we offer net zero carbon in operation design options to customers as standard.

In 2025, design options were offered on all new early-stage projects and were incorporated on 29% of applicable projects. We have built maximum feasible renewable energy generation into 47 of our customers’ projects (56% of applicable projects).

Net Zero Schools

The Department for Education's requirement for all new school buildings to achieve net zero carbon in operation continues to drive our pipeline. We have secured 27 projects worth £977m through the DfE's 2021 Construction Framework.

In 2025, we secured a place on the DfE’s Construction Framework 2025 for projects value over £12m, securing the £20.7m contract for Durham Academy in October 2025, extending our net zero in operation schools portfolio.

We are also applying our expertise to specialist education settings across the DfE estate, including the delivery of a flagship secure children’s home in Lincolnshire designed to achieve net zero carbon in operation. The scheme combines a high‑performance fabric with on‑site solar generation and battery storage.

Paddock SEND School in Tooting, completed August 2025, provides 64 additional specialist places (below). It is targeting net zero in operation with BREEAM Outstanding accreditation pending.

Wellington Place Primary School, in Market Harborough, is the second in Leicestershire County Council's net zero schools programme following the flagship Hollycroft Primary School (below).

Outwood Academy Kirkby in Nottinghamshire (below) - planning permission was granted in 2025 for a new DfE-funded building targeting completion for the 2028/29 academic year.

Hopescourt School in Walton-on-Thames, a SEND school for Surrey County Council targeting net zero in operation due spring 2026, with autistic-specific teaching spaces optimised through our Energy Synergy^® process.

Net Zero Further and Higher Education

Our net zero ambitions extend beyond schools. A £60m contract for Bridgend College's new net zero Town Centre Campus (below), and a £49m redevelopment of Wigan and Leigh College - both net zero in operation - reflect the growing demand for ultra-low carbon further education infrastructure.

Work is underway on the University of Staffordshire's Student Village at its Stoke-on-Trent campus (below). Due 2026, the £90m project takes a fabric-first approach with high insulation, maximised airtightness, smart MEP systems and roof-mounted PV panels.

At Oxford Brookes University's Headington Hill Campus, we delivered low carbon, high performance facilities achieving BREEAM Excellent, with triple glazing, exceptional airtightness, roof-mounted PV and EV charging to support the customer's 2040 net zero target.

Recent higher education completions include the award-winning Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research Building and Warwick Arts Centre at the University of Warwick, the £46.5m School of Engineering at the University of Birmingham, and an interior refit of the School of Computer Science and Engineering Innovation Centre at the University of Westminster.

Net Zero Commercial

19 Cornwall Street in Birmingham - delivered by Willmott Dixon Interiors for Kier Property - is the only building in Birmingham to achieve a 5-star NABERS UK Design for Performance rating, and one of only 34 nationally registered under the scheme. This back-to-frame refurbishment creates 139,000ft² of commercial office space designed to achieve net zero carbon by 2030.

Net Zero Science and Innovation

Our team is on site delivering the £60m Greenheys development for Bruntwood SciTech, a life sciences and innovation hub at Manchester Science Park. Featuring flexible CL2 (containment) laboratories and office space, Greenheys targets net zero carbon in both construction and operation, with reduced embodied carbon and 100% electric operations.

We completed two advanced healthcare facilities at Southampton's Adanac Health and Innovation Campus. We constructed a 6600m² multi-use facility to house a highly specialised aseptic pharmacy and Sterile Services Department to manufacture medicines for University Hospital Southampton and other NHS providers across the region. The new development achieved BREEAM Excellent certification and includes photovoltaic panels to generate clean energy.

Net Zero Homes

Net zero carbon is now a mainstream requirement in the social housing sector. In 2025, we delivered 100 new affordable homes for Rugby Borough Council at Navigation Way — a £22m development on the former Biart Place site (below). Every home features solar panels, air source heat pumps and EV charging points, reducing energy costs for tenants and supporting the council's net zero ambitions.

Cllr Claire Edwards, Rugby Borough Council portfolio holder for communities and homes, said: "Navigation Way has transformed the former Biart Place site and delivered 100 modern, sustainable properties. We worked closely with Willmott Dixon throughout and benefited from financial support from the Government and Homes England, which helped bring our plans from drawing board to delivery."

We continue to strengthen our focus on closing the performance gap for net zero homes through post‑occupancy monitoring and data‑led optimisation. At retirement living schemes in at Ty Darran in Caerphilly and at Inspired Villages UK's Millfield Green (below), building performance monitoring has been used to track actual energy use against design intent, supporting fine‑tuning of fabric‑first homes, low‑carbon heating systems and on‑site renewables. Insights from this work are helping validate net zero in operation outcomes and inform design improvements at scale, particularly for later living communities delivering fossil‑fuel‑free homes.

Net Zero Blue Light and Public Sector

Our expanding portfolio of net zero public sector buildings now includes a growing range of blue light projects targeting net zero carbon in operation.

We completed Dorset Police's new 30,000 sq ft, three-storey Grade A headquarters at its Winfrith site — designed to BREEAM Very Good, with air source heat pumps and PV panels — procured via the Southern Construction Framework.

In 2025, work began on a £14m net zero Crewe Deployment Base for Cheshire Constabulary, a 300-staff, 24/7 operational hub. Further contracts include the £55m redevelopment of Hertfordshire Constabulary's headquarters (targeting BREEAM Excellent), a £30.5m custody suite for Derbyshire Constabulary, and the £18m Pendle Police Station for Lancashire. In Oxfordshire, we are delivering the new Thames Valley Police Forensic Investigation Centre, due spring 2026.

New Hospital Programme

Willmott Dixon is one of ten construction partners appointed to the Hospital 2.0 Alliance - the delivery vehicle for the Government’s New Hospital Programme, the largest hospital building programme in a generation.

In October 2025, we broke ground on the £140m Emergency Care Building at Derriford Hospital, Plymouth, for University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust - the first Wave 1 scheme in the programme to begin main construction. The four-storey building will almost double the capacity of one of the South West's busiest emergency departments, adding Emergency and Same Day Emergency Care alongside new surgical and interventional radiology theatres.

We are also named as a supplier on the £500m NHS Shared Business Services Decarbonisation of Estates Framework, supporting energy efficiency improvements across NHS Trusts nationwide.

Decarbonisation

Our Decarbonise Today service provides expert advice on all aspects of decarbonisation and retrofit funding for the public and private sectors. From estate-wide assessments and investment-grade proposals to securing external funding and managing delivery, we offer customers a true end-to-end decarbonisation pathway, maximising carbon reductions, cost efficiencies and long-term sustainability.

Find out more in the Innovation section of the Now or Never review.

Building Performance

Energy Synergy^® is our trademarked building performance management service, currently deployed across £1.27bn of Willmott Dixon projects. It directly supports our target to eliminate the energy performance gap across all non-domestic new builds and major refurbishments by 2030.

To date, the service has been applied on 22 projects with 70% reporting no performance gap after 12 months. This has delivered savings of 2.4GWh of energy, £600,000 in costs and 485 tonnes of CO₂e for our customers during 2025. We also offer residential performance monitoring solutions to ensure homes operate as efficiently as possible.

Find out more in the Innovation section of the Now or Never review.