The Confederation of Co-operative Housing (CCH) has helped Starley Housing Co-op in Coventry secure a retrofit grant worth £40,000.
The co-op has been working with CCH’s Retrofit Advisor service since the start of the year, and has been granted the money from the Midlands Net Zero Hub Community Energy Fund. CCH says the success “unlocks the next steps of a co-operative-wide feasibility study”.
It added: “This is a long-term management strategy that will identify measures that will help Starley Housing Co-operative develop its route map to net zero by 2050, helping 65 members of their co-operative households decarbonise their homes and save money on their energy bills.”
The project’s goal is to employ the whole-house fabric-first approach that is promoted by CCH’s Wayshaper Sustainable Homes toolkit, which will inform community decision-making and resident workshops.
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Doreen from Starley Co-op said: “This is a very exciting time for us. I didn’t think it would be so easy. The CCH Retrofit team has done most of the work. All we did was give them a pipe dream and now it’s turning into reality. Our homes are Victorian terrace homes and are so cold in the winter. It will be a transformation to our members to find ways to reduce our heating bills.”
The project will start in September and CCH hopes the work will be finished by next spring. First, the retrofit team will explore and develop a plan, delivery model, and budget that is phased sensibly to align with the co-op’s maintenance cycles and voids in order to efficiently upgrade properties to maximise on performance and cost effectiveness.
The works will be funded through a combination of grant, capital maintenance budget, reserves, a potential loan stock, and phased development finance.
The retrofit advisor team, led by James Neward, has carried out a review of the co-operative’s full energy performance certificate (EPC) and stock condition survey of the properties. This early stage support formed the basis of the grant application and the team helped build the application and submit it on behalf of the co-operative.
CCH says it has developed a project brief and initial retrofit action plan, alongside a property profile database that records property information and prioritised retrofit measures. During this phase, the team spent a day in Coventry with the Starley Housing Co-op team discussing their needs and reviewing some of the properties along Starley Road.
“Working with the Starley team has been a breath of fresh air,” said Neward. “They have committed to doing a deep review of their properties to ensure they’re in the best possible condition for members. Seeing the opportunity to dovetail environmental upgrades into their maintenance cycles is really savvy, and we’re really pleased to have been able to provide the support they need to plan for this retrofit work and access grant funding.
“On a personal level, I’m really looking forward to working with the members and our associates in resident workshops using our new Wayshaper toolkit. Putting the toolkit into action on a large scale is exciting.”
The Retrofit Right team at UK Hempcrete will be working closely with the Starley members to assess the properties and test the current retrofit plan.
Alex Sparrow from Retrofit Right said: “Retrofit Right is delighted to be working with Starley Road Housing Co-operative on an Energy Audit and Building Fabric Retrofit Assessment of some of their properties. The project will explore the feasibility of Community Renewable Energy Systems and upgrading their properties to reduce residents’ fuel costs and lower the Co-operative’s operational carbon emissions”
The government has confirmed that landlords will have to meet an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of Band C by 2030.
