Agenda item

The report provides an update on the ongoing Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund project to upgrade South Kesteven District Council owned properties with energy efficiency measures.

The Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning presented the report which provided an update on the ongoing Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund project to upgrade South Kesteven District Council owned properties with energy efficiency measures.  The cost of the programme was £7.62m and was funded 50/50 by Government and the Council’s Housing Revenue Account (HRA).    The programme would make significant improvements to the Council’s most carbon emitting properties.  The programme would improve the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of council properties from a D to C rating by 2030.

Currently the Council had 200 properties with coal fires and wave 2.1 of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund aimed to upgrade the energy performance of the Council properties over the next year with targeted energy efficiency and low carbon heating with renewable energy.  The programme had three phases:

i)             Installation of solar panels - 148 properties

ii)            Air source heat pumps - 180 properties

iii)           External wall insulation - 39 properties

The project had been slow to start but since November 2023, 66 measures had been put in at 49 properties.   The scheduled 367 measures should be completed by March 2025.  The Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning introduced the Decarbonisation Project Manager, Peter Park to the Committee.

The Decarbonisation Project Manager stated that the Council’s delivery partner was EON and the project would be overseen by himself together with a retrofit inspector and an administrator who would check that funding criteria was met.

A question was asked in respect of the properties done to date and it was confirmed that the project was fabric first to ensure that the insulation measures were in place before any heating source was installed.

The Chairman asked when it was perceived that all properties would reach the C EPC rating level.  It was confirmed that by the end of March next year for this particular programme, the properties should be at C or above.  There was a caveat that if properties reached a higher rating level than C then the funding criteria would ask if more money was being spent on a property than was necessary.  Reference was made to the D properties and it was felt that these could be rated up to a C by 2030.

The Chairman asked about those properties that were F and G rating.  It was stated that there were currently around 19 G properties.  G, F and E properties were being tackled as part of the programme with the worst performing properties being those with solid fuel and these were being incorporated in to the funding.

It was asked if future funding would be available to which the Decarbonisation Project Manager stated that the Council wasn’t eligible for wave 2.2 funding as they were in receipt of wave 2.1 funding but the Council should be eligible for wave 2.3 funding, different funding streams were being looked at constantly.

A question was asked about whether there would be sufficient funding to ensure all the Council’s housing stock would be able to be C or above rated by 2030 or whether the Council would have to supply the funds.  It was stated that this did depend on the funding criteria in respect of wave 2.3 funding.

Discussion on the subject followed and it was suggested that six monthly updates on the project be added to the Committee’s work programme.

ØAction

Add Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund update to Work Programme, next update in six months.

Further discussion followed and covered what insulation measures took place, where the solid fuel properties were located (these tended to be in rural areas), who undertook the EPC rating of the Council properties was it internal or external.  The Chairman of Environment OSC who was in attendance stated that he would be inviting someone to speak about EPC’s and their benefits to a meeting of the Environment OSC and he invited Members of the Housing OSC to attend.    It was confirmed that EPC ratings were undertook by an external contractor.

More discussion on what stock conditions surveys were carried out and the Chief Executive responded that 20% of the housing stock had surveys carried out each year and stock condition surveys were carried out every five years.  A question was asked whether having all properties at an EPC C rating by 2030 was an aim or aspiration.  It was an aspiration to have all properties at an EPC rating of C before 2030 but this was limited to what funding and investment was available to the Council through the HRA.

Further comments were made in respect of whether properties that were G rated were worth being upgraded and kept.  The Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning indicated that Best Value for Money was always being considered and it if was in the best interests to sell a property an reinvest the money that would be considered.

Members noted the report.