The funding will allow Lambeth Council to carry out more retrofitting works to hundreds of council homes that will make them more energy efficient.
In addition to improving energy performance in homes, the funding will help reduce carbon emissions, tackle fuel poverty, support green jobs, and develop the retrofit sector.
Cllr Rezina Chowdhury, cabinet member for Sustainable Lambeth and Clean Air, said: “I am delighted that Lambeth Council has secured further funding to carry out this essential retro-fitting works so our residents have homes that are more energy efficient and result in lower energy bills.
“We are prioritising work that will have a meaningful impact on peoples’ lives by making sure their homes are warmer in the colder months and cooler in the summer.
“This means measures such as wall insulation, loft insulation and window and door replacement will be prioritised, leaving homes ready for low-carbon measures like air source heat pumps and solar panels that could be fitted in the future.”
The £6.2 million retrofitting project, co-funded by Lambeth council, will focus on social housing flats and houses in Blenheim Gardens Estate, Caldwell Gardens Estate and the Tivoli Road area. The project will work with residents to select homes suitable for the ‘fabric first’ approach.
Improving the energy efficiency of these homes means residents will be healthier and warmer, resulting in less damp and mould, and making them less expensive to heat. Improving the thermal efficiency means will also help keep homes cooler on the hotter days of summer.
By tackling the energy efficiency of Lambeth’s social housing stock, we are taking a big step in making Lambeth a borough where people live, work, and learn in comfortable, affordable, efficient buildings that are powered by renewable energy and are adaptable to the changing climate.
A goal of Lambeth’s Climate Action Plan, published in March 2022, is to retrofit all of Lambeth’s existing buildings (residential & non-residential) to an average of EPC level C or higher by 2030.
The project will be delivered over two years with the aim of completing the works by March 2026 and is part of a wider decarbonisation programme for the whole borough.
The funding comes from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNEZ) as part of their Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) to improve homes across the UK.
Cllr Chowdhury added: “Improving energy efficiency, lowering peoples’ bills, and improving the state of our homes is a key priority for the council. This funding will allow us to retro-fit hundreds of homes and improve the lives of our residents.”
