Tide-built modular Eades towers in Walthamstow take first post-construction HQM Excellent rating

Tide has said The Eades, a 495-home modular build-to-rent scheme in Walthamstow, is the first UK development to achieve an Excellent rating at post construction stage under BRE's Home Quality Mark.

The contractor said the scheme was delivered with Vision Volumetric and built from the manufacturer's offsite modules, which it said gave consistent quality, reduced environmental impact and a more predictable delivery programme.

Carbon.Climate.Certified acted as Home Quality Mark (HQM) assessor on the project, Tide said, and the assessment validated performance across categories including energy efficiency, materials, indoor environmental quality and resilience.

The post construction stage matters because, under BRE's residential scheme, the design stage awards only a provisional rating based on predicted performance. The post construction stage verifies the score achieved by the finished building, and BRE says every BREEAM rating is independently assessed and verified.

The scheme

The Eades provides 495 build-to-rent homes in two towers of 34 and 27 storeys and forms part of the regeneration of Walthamstow town centre, according to Tide. Its project page, which refers to the scheme as The Mall, describes the homes as one and two-bedroom apartments and says the development includes a new step-free entrance to Walthamstow Central Station.

Work on site started in January 2023 on a 30-month programme, Tide said. The scheme comprises 1,375 volumetric units, and Tide said in a May 2026 release that the units were installed within a 21-week programme using design for manufacture and assembly (DfMA) and offsite volumetric modular construction.

Owner Long Harbour describes The Eades as a £300m build-to-rent asset in north-east London. It said 99 of the 495 homes are available at Discount to Market Rent and the scheme has more than 25,000 sq ft of community amenities. The name honours the artist Madge Gill, who was born Maude Ethel Eades, Long Harbour said.

The scheme reached practical completion in September 2025, according to Long Harbour. In July 2026 the investor secured a five-year £160m investment loan from NatWest secured against The Eades and Riverstone Heights.

Tide's project page says the development won PRS Deal of the Year at the 2023 RESI Awards.

The standard

Tide's announcement describes HQM as now formally adopted as BREEAM Residential. BRE's own name for the rebranded scheme is BREEAM UK New Construction: Residential V6.1, which it released in April 2025 after announcing the change to the market in February 2025.

BRE said HQM had led residential sustainability assessment in the UK since 2015, with more than 50,000 homes registered. Its knowledge base note on the change says the scoring system and the score required for each rating level remain consistent with HQM V6.

Jane Goddard, managing director, building performance services and deputy chief executive of BRE, said at the time of the rebrand: "Integrating HQM into the BREEAM brand will help stakeholders demonstrate and verify their environmental performance".

Projects are registered with BRE through a licensed BREEAM assessor, according to the organisation.

What it means

Tide said achieving Excellent at post construction stage demonstrated its integrated delivery model and Vision Volumetric's manufacturing precision, and reinforced the role of high-rise volumetric construction in meeting UK demand for low-carbon homes.

At the scheme's launch, Cllr Ahsan Khan, deputy leader and cabinet member for housing and regeneration at the London Borough of Waltham Forest, said The Eades marked a significant milestone in the borough's regeneration, according to Long Harbour.

The 1,375 modules were installed over 21 weeks, Tide said, with practical completion following in September 2025.