20,000 social housing properties across England with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of D or lower receive upgrades to improve their energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions as government announces a £179 million funding, which forms a part of the £3.8 billion Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF).
Today’s announcement sets out the 69 projects that have been allocated the financial support in the first wave of SHDF, with funding allocated to local authorities who will deliver them together with social housing providers, with the upgrades expected to be completed by the end of March 2023.
National Housing Federation Chief Executive Kate Henderson commented on the announcement: “We warmly welcome the announcement of the first Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund recipients.
“Alongside helping us to achieve our crucial net zero target, this will mean warmer, more comfortable homes for social housing residents, and importantly help to protect them from rising energy bills.
“Housing associations are committed to working with government to upgrade the nation’s social housing stock, and this fund will play a vital role in this.”
According to Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), around 9,000 jobs in the green energy sector will be generated as a result, with the funding expected to deliver carbon emissions savings equivalent to taking up to 6,000 cars off the road in any given year.
The SHDF Wave 1 funding builds on the success of a £61 million demonstrator project launched in October 2020, which improved the energy efficiency of thousands of social homes – cutting bills for tenants and supporting around 1,200 jobs.
Regional spread of SHDF Wave 1 funding:
- London, £23,708,238
- Southwest, £5,024,842
- Southeast, £8,608,446
- East of England, £27,323,006
- West Midlands, £23,208,418
- East Midlands, £ 27,760,477
- Northeast, £14,177,002
- Northwest, £26,309,473
- Yorkshire and the Humber, £22,573,272
Delivery of Wave 1 funding is designed to encourage social housing providers to improve the least energy-efficient homes first and ensure that heat loss prevention measures, such as insulation, are installed effectively and to a rigorous performance standard.
It is also set to ensure energy efficiency measures installed are chosen in a way that minimises the potential for them having to be replaced in the future.
The SHDF Wave 2 competition will launch in the next financial year, with more details on Wave 2 being made available over the coming months.
BEIS encourages those considering applying to begin preparing now.
Full list of the Wave 1 successful bids is available on the UK Government website.
