The drive for energy efficient buildings is fuelling a positive outlook for a Shropshire business as it develops a growing specialism in net carbon construction for the public and private sector.

Pave Aways Building Contractors has worked on high profile projects worth more than £17m for local authorities aiming to reduce their carbon footprint. Most councils in the UK have declared a climate emergency and are looking to partner with firms with a pedigree in low carbon construction on major projects.

The Knockin based firm built the first ever Passivhaus school and social housing schemes for Powys County Council and a net zero carbon extension to Blacon School for Cheshire West and Chester Council in the last 18 months.

This year, it will hand over new carbon neutral buildings at Harlescott Junior School in Shrewsbury for Shropshire Council and deliver the decarbonisation of Newport Leisure Centre to increase the energy efficiency of the facility for Telford & Wrekin Council.

As well as the widely acknowledged environmental benefits of low carbon construction, the increasing call for low, zero or carbon neutral building was having a  positive impact on skills locally, said Pave Aways’ Managing Director Steven Owen.

“Working on Passivhaus and carbon neutral buildings has helped us to introduce these building methods to our team as well as the sub contractors in our supply chain. This, in turn, is beneficial to the wider community as they can put those skills to use in other projects.

“There is more and more demand for low carbon construction especially on large scale builds and, thanks to our experience in that field, it is giving us a competitive edge. As we saw at COP26, there is a demand for net zero transformation in the sector and we are actively looking at how we can reduce embedded emission,” he added.

Despite the widespread supply issues facing the construction industry since Brexit and the ongoing challenges of the covid pandemic, Pave Aways was facing a positive 2022, added Steven.

“In the past two years we have delivered contracts worth £48.5m across Shropshire, Mid Wales, Cheshire and beyond, opened an office in Mid Wales, won awards, supported the communities where we work and stayed true to the values of honesty and integrity that underpin everything we do at Pave Aways.

“We have a healthy order book for 2022 with contracts in a range of sectors and an excellent team to deliver them. The foundation of our business is strong and we look forward to building on that this year.”