Why did the project use BREEAM?

As part of their Corporate Sustainability Policy, Whitbread Plc specify that all their new hotels must achieve a minimum BREEAM rating of very good and above. Furthermore, as the development was in the jurisdiction of the Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames, a target to achieve BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ became a planning condition/ requirement.

We open a large number of new hotels and restaurants every year. Every new opening is an opportunity to reduce our energy use, carbon emissions and water use by ensuring high standards of energy and water efficiency in our new buildings. By setting a minimum standard of BREEAM ‘very good’ we can ensure that our new buildings meet a high sustainable standard. However, we strive to lead the industry and go beyond our minimum. Our hub by Premier Inn hotel at St Martins Lane in central London was the first BREEAM ‘Outstanding’’ hotel in the UK. Achieving the standard again at Premier Inn Tolworth demonstrates our commitment to raising the bar and showing what can be achieved.

Cian Hatton, Head of Environment and Energy at Premier Inn and Restaurants

Project details

The development comprised the demolition of the existing buildings and the construction of a new 137-bedroom hotel across 8 storeys, which includes an ancillary café and a ‘Thyme’ bar and restaurant with 110 covers.

The Premier Inn hotel was designed with high architectural merit, using quality and responsibly sourced materials. The exterior envelope comprised a mixture of materials including a Yellow Rustica Brick façade with accompanying Natural Copper Cladding Infill Panels and Aluminium Powder Coated Grey Windows.

The project scored highly across all credit categories and was additionally awarded 5 innovation credits for BREEAM AP, Low or Zero Carbon Technologies, Water Metering and Construction Site Waste Management.

The hotel particularly excelled in its energy performance, achieving 22 of the 24 available energy credits. Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHP) with heat recovery technology were installed to provide space heating and cooling to all bedroom and public areas.

With hot water being a major energy consumer for hotels, to maximise energy efficiency and minimise energy usage, hot water is generated primarily by a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) system. A back-up of high efficiency direct gas fired water heaters with seasonal efficiencies of over 95% were also designed in.

In order to minimise the impact of the redevelopment on the local water infrastructure, water saving techniques were incorporated to help reduce site consumption. The water consumption (litres/person/day) for the hotel, when compared against a notional baseline performance level, is reduced by a minimum of 50%. A key element of this performance is the installation of a grey water recycling system to provide 100% of all the WC flushing demand within the development.

Other sustainability initiatives which contributed to the BREEAM score were the biodiverse roofs, a comprehensive Building Management System and the successful diversion of 99% of non-hazardous construction waste from landfill. The hotel also has Secure By Design Accreditation.