South Lakes Housing awarded millions for major home improvements

The lake-district based housing association has received over £3m from the government to help supply 900 homes with sustainable energy improvements.

Awarded £3.5m the South Lakes Housing Association has claimed the money will enabled them to retrofit and decarbonise 900 homes in a bid to improve carbon emissions and to make residents home more energy efficient. The organisation aims to make all its homes Energy Performance Certificate ‘C’ rating by 2025, which would be five years earlier than the government target.

The funding, which was given through the government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF), will be used to install a range of energy-efficiency measures including external wall insulation, cavity insulation and double glazing. Some homes will also be fitted with solar panels and air source heat pumps.

Following this, results from installing the measures would be seen almost immediately, making people’s homes easier to heat and in the long term, cheaper to run. Additionally, ensuring an individual’s home is well insulated reduces the risk of damp and mould, which has dominated headlines over the last few months.

Cath Purdy, Chief Executive of South Lakes Housing, said: ‘It’s fantastic news we have secured £3.5m of funding in the second wave of the SHDF which will match-fund the significant investment we are making.

‘Decarbonising social homes has a fundamental role to play in meeting ours and the country’s net zero targets.

‘This funding will make a real difference to our customers who live in the lowest energy performing homes and help us to provide warm, healthy homes in an environmentally sustainable way.’

South Lakes was part of a consortium led by Westmorland and Furness Council, which attracted a total of £5.1m of funding from the SHDF to deliver a £10.3m retrofit project across Cumbria.

The funding is part of a £778m allocated across England to help upgrade thousands of social homes to reach an EPC C-rating, which means a property has been built using energy-efficient building methods or the home’s fabric has been upgraded.

Eligible customers in-line for the upgrades will be contacted individually in the coming weeks by the South Lakes Housing Association with details of the scheme and planned investment in their homes.

Image: Bill Mead