We have carried out the successful retrofit of nearly 300 homes under our Cby28 programme which aims to bring 9,000 of our worst performing properties up to Energy Performance Certificate C by 2028.
Taking a fabric first approach, we are investing approximately £40m into our existing rental homes, underlining our commitment to reducing our carbon footprint, making our properties more affordable to live in and improving the energy performance of our homes.
Having invested in ensuring the energy performance of our new homes are above current building regulations, we remain committed to low carbon electrification of heating and hot water so we are futureproofing construction, enabling heat pumps to be retrofitted when appropriate.
Having set our targets for 2028 – two years ahead of the Government deadline – we are pressing ahead with retrofitting our homes, including cavity wall, loft and external wall insulation, and the installation of heat pump heating systems and solar panels.
The homes retrofitted to date have been done through the Local Authority Delivery scheme (LAD) funding.
LAD is a UK Government funded initiative. Its aim is to improve the energy efficiency of homes, helping to reduce fuel poverty and phasing out high carbon fossil fuel heating.
The Government ring-fenced £500m in August 2020 for local authorities in England as part of the Green Homes Grant.
Phase one of the LAD funding saw over £200m allocated to 136 local authority projects, while phase two issued £300m of funding distributed via five Local Energy Hubs during the 2021/22 financial year. Phase three will deliver £200m for new projects yet to be announced.
Rory Henderson, our Strategic Manager for Net Zero, said: “Unlocking LAD funding has meant we have been able to immediately get to work improving the energy efficiency of nearly 300 homes, so we are delighted.
“This will make a real difference to many customers’ homes, helping to reduce energy consumption as the cost to heat homes increases.
“The economic and environmental necessity for more energy efficient homes has never been greater and this boost has put us well on the path to creating more sustainable communities.”
We have also successfully unlocked Social Housing Decarbonisation Funding (SHDF) to supplement our investment and align stock investment with our retrofit investment.
Towards the start of this year, the Government named the 69 local authorities who had made successful bids for some of the £179m made available in the SHDF wave one.
We were delighted that both bids we were part of were successful – one with Plymouth City Council (who were awarded £1m of which LiveWest will benefit from over £600k of funding) and one with the South West Energy hub hosted by the West of England Combined Authority (who were awarded £4.7m of which LiveWest will benefit from over £1.3m).
Our allocation of nearly £2m is the largest allocation to any social landlord in the region and work will begin once assessments are completed.
Rory Henderson said: “This funding is so important as it will make a difference to the energy performance of our customers’ homes, and we hope that despite rising prices customers will see the benefits in their fuel bills.
“We hope that through this government funding, matched by our own investment and other funding we may be able to unlock, we will not only ensure these benefiting scheme continue to provide vital social housing for decades to come, it will also act as a demonstrator of what can be done to help us prepare for Carbon Zero.”