Councils and builders join forces to retrofit cold homes

The UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) has joined forces with a number of local authorities for a project to upgrade draughty, energy-hungry housing stock.

The Accelerator Cities project will support towns and cities to develop their own home retrofit programmes; help co-ordinate action between them, including sharing best practice, lessons learned, evidence and resources.

To help achieve this, UKGBC has brought together city and combined authority partners: Birmingham City Council, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, the Greater London Authority, Leeds City Council andthe West Midlands Combined Authority.

A range of other expert stakeholders are also on board including the Active Building Centre, Bioregional, Energy Saving Trust, Green Alliance, Otley Energy, Places in Common, RetrofitWorks and UK100.

With calls for a ‘green recovery’ from the Covid-19 pandemic rocketing up the agenda, the need for investment in the energy efficiency of our homes is becoming ever clearer, according to the UKGBC.

The economic cost to the NHS of cold homes, at a time of great pressure, is thought to be around £1.4b.

In addition, reducing carbon emissions associated with energy used in our homes is one of the biggest challenges facing the nation in terms of making the transition to a net zero carbon economy.

‘There is a critical need to improve the nation’s health, reduce carbon emissions and create long-lasting economic benefits,’ said the UKGBC’s director of policy and places, John Alker.

‘Home retrofit is a triple-win that supports all three goals. Although central government still holds many of the keys to unlocking this, cities and local authorities are stepping up to play a crucial leadership role.

‘Accelerator Cities is all about supporting and enabling greater coordination between local government on home retrofit. The project will help city and local authorities as they grapple with issues such as householder engagement, skills and finance – helping to build an evidence base, learn lessons and share common approaches.’

The leader of Trafford Council and the Greater Manchester lead for Green City Region, Cllr Andrew Western, added: ‘Installing energy efficient measures into the fabric of our homes to make them warmer and more cost effective is one of the key actions identified in Greater Manchester’s Five Year Environment Plan to drive down our emissions and become carbon neutral by 2038.

‘As a city-region, we take pride in the great strides being taken in Greater Manchester and the appetite to both share experiences and learn from others. As our homes continue to play the role of office and school, the need to help people make energy efficient improvements and to build back greener, is even more of an incentive to be part of the Accelerator Cities project.’

Photo Credit – Magnascan (Pixabay)