Anchor has upgraded the energy performance of 23 properties in Durham after securing money from the social housing decarbonisation fund (SHDF) wave 2.
The project follows a successful bid for SHDF funding last year that the not-for-profit provider of specialist housing and care submitted as part of the Greener Futures Partnership. The partnership is a group of housing associations looking to tackle long-term decarbonisation.
Anchor secured £2.2m and is using this to deliver energy efficiency works to 341 homes that are below an energy performance certificate rating C, with homes in Hawkshead Court in Newton Aycliffe, Durham, one of the first to benefit.
In partnership with framework contractors Equans, Anchor completed retrofit assessment surveys to all properties, improvements were designed, and in January, works got underway to improve residents’ homes.
One of the measures was to replace old storage heaters with high heat retention storage heaters, which offer residents more control of their heating.
All its rented properties must reach an energy performance certificate rating C or above by 2030.
‘We are taking a “fabric first” approach which means making homes more energy efficient by improving the fabric of the building including measures such as windows, wall, and loft insulation, followed by making improvement inside the home with upgrades to heating systems and installing low energy lighting,’ said Liz Davenport, property sustainability director at Anchor.
Tim Wood, director of sustainability and innovation at Equans, said: ‘By working closely with Anchor, we’re enabling them to make lasting, positive, change to the carbon footprint of their housing stock, starting with Hawkshead Court in Newton Aycliffe.’
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