In February 2022, we were awarded £1.25m of grant funding from the government to retrofit some of our homes in Yorkshire and Surrey.
The work includes fitting insulation and solar panels to improve energy efficiency across 70 homes. It is particularly important for the customers who live in these homes as it means they will use less energy to heat their homes, but the work is also necessary to reduce our global demand for energy.
The homes involved are on Acre Street, Well Bank Road and Gooder Lane in Yorkshire, and on Eaton Road, The Avenue, Chertsey Road and Meadow Cottages in Surrey. Our contractor Equans has carried out the work.
In Yorkshire, on Acre Street, customers have received new thermally efficient doors and windows, and loft insulation top-ups. This has boosted the energy rating for their homes from EPC band D to EPC band C, meaning customers will use less energy to heat their home. At Well Bank Road, the outer walls of these homes have been covered in external wall insulation and a brick effect has been applied to the render so that the customers’ homes keep the same look they had before work began. Lofts have been insulated and we have fitted new windows and doors. On Gooder Lane, we have replaced the roof of one of the blocks, fitted new render and fitted wall and loft insulation. We’ve also replaced the windows and doors.
Moving south to Surrey and our homes have been fitted with either solar panels, cavity wall and loft insulation or new windows and doors. Whether our homes have had some or all of these improvements, they will all benefit from improved energy efficiency and the environmental impact on the community.
Although work on these homes has now completed, we still have much more to do to make sure our homes reach the government’s targets of EPC Band C by 2030.
Helping us on the way to reach that is a further £630,000 in funding to retrofit another 70 homes over the next two years. We’ve also received funding from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to insulate 99 homes across West Yorkshire by March 2024, and we are currently looking into other government schemes.
Although the work has been funded, it doesn’t cover all the cost and we have invested around £2 million ourselves into making these improvements. We’ve also set aside a further £1.5 million for further retrofit projects over the next couple of years. This is all part of our commitment to invest in our existing homes to make sure they are fit for 21st century living for our customers.
Stay tuned for more updates.
