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BACKGROUND

In 2019, Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council (RMBC) along with several other Local Authorities announced a ‘Climate Emergency’ and pledged to get carbon emissions within the borough to net zero by 2035. To help achieve its net zero ambitions, RMBC engaged Parity Projects to assist in carrying out a carbon assessment across the whole of the Council owned stock to provide a comprehensive insight into what measures are required for the stock to achieve this target. A key outcome of reaching net zero targets is the financial benefit for residents, with improved energy efficiency of homes often resulting in a reduction of energy bills. This is particularly important for areas with high levels of fuel poverty.

The Maltby area was identified as the key area that would benefit from targeted high volume and value subsidy into thermal improvements alongside planned property investment. Maltby currently sits in the bottom 10% Low Super Output Areas within the country and is in the top 10% most deprived areas nationally. 143 households within the area were identified for investment, 125 of which were in group 3 or 4 of the Index of Multiple Deprivation Decile, and therefore in the 30-40% most deprived areas in the UK. All these factors mean that, in the main, residents were in constant fuel poverty. Combine this with the area having poor rates of health generally, disability rates above the Borough and much higher than the national averages, and Maltby having high obesity rates and alcohol related harm, the quality of the accommodation is essential.

ACTION

RMBC engaged Parity Projects to help carry out a carbon assessment across all Council owned stock to provide a comprehensive insight into what measures are required to achieve the Council’s 2035 net zero target. This information was then overlayed with the planned capital programme to identify the Maltby area as the key area that would benefit from targeted high volume and value subsidy into thermal improvements alongside its planned investment.

130 properties were selected for investment, using a ‘deep and narrow’ strategy in which each property would be retrofitted to the PAS2035 standard, in accordance with SHDF requirements.

RMBC and Equans worked with tenants to install the improvements, ensuring that their lives were impacted as little as possible throughout the build. Work consisted of four thermal improvement measures including external wall insulation, cavity wall insulation, loft insulation and high-performance windows and doors. Some properties also received new roofs.

Some compromises were made to the specification on some properties over the course of the project. 53 properties had the external wall insulation removed from the scope due to inability to engage with the Distribution Network Operators (DNO) to re-route externally mounted power cables with no other mitigating strategy under PAS2025. Also, due to national material shortages of 150mm insulation boards some of the properties received a thinner 100mm external wall insulation than initially planned.

IMPACT

Programme works commenced in December 2022 and delivery has been a great success. The project has received high customer satisfaction, supported around 70 jobs during the scheme delivery, utilised local supply chains wherever possible, and was nominated for Multi-measure Project of the Year at the 2023 National Energy Efficiency Awards.

To date, based on the calculations from properties that have been fully completed, the average annual household energy bill should be £426 less than it would have been if the works had not been completed. This is significantly more than initial estimates, owing in the main to the sharp increase in energy costs over the past two years. This is a critical success of the scheme, ensuring investment in thermal improvements for those who are most in need. Over the 130 properties this should create combined savings of over £50,000 per year.

LESSONS LEARNT

There was significant underestimation of the managerial resource requirement from both the Council and Principal Contractor in working to the PAS2035 standard. The Council now has a better understanding of the rigidity of PAS2035 in overcoming difficulties (such as relocating externally mounted power cables).

Working to the requirements of PAS2035 also meant the Council’s flexibility to backfill drop out properties was limited, resulting in fewer units being completed than hoped.

SHDF Funding becomes diluted when factoring in the extra time and cost requirements working to PAS2035 and other funding requirements.

The scheme has drastically improved the energy efficiency of low income, low energy performance homes, and in turn generated significant energy cost savings for those who need it most. However, the scheme has represented significant subsidy per property which is not scalable across all RMBC stock. Delays had an impact on the overall length of the scheme, which had been designed to offer efficiencies, value for money and streamlined tenant experience.

A significant key learning from this project was that it provided confirmation that with the right investment the Council can achieve its Net Zero ambitions.