Equans has announced its partnership with Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council to deliver important decarbonisation measures across the housing market in Maltby. For this project, the council has secured £1.5 million from the Government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF), which will serve as a pilot to retrofit other homes in the region.
Known as a former mining town with some of the UK’s highest levels of fuel poverty, Maltby would benefit immensely from this project. Unfortunately, the town is currently in top 10% most fuel-poor areas in the UK, and current EPC ratings on the selected properties range from C to G.
“We’re delighted to be working with Rotherham Council on this vital energy efficiency and decarbonisation project in Maltby. With energy bills set to continue rising for the foreseeable future, pushing more and more people into fuel poverty, it’s more important than ever that the private and public sectors work together on projects like this,” commented Steve Batty, Head of Sustainability at Equans UK & Ireland.
The 141 homes due to benefit from the Equans measures are traditional cavity brick-built, which is typical of the housing stock in Rotherham and can therefore help to shape the future borough-wide net zero carbon specification. As well as fabric improvements, including external wall and loft insulation, triple-glazed windows and energy efficient doors, the scope of work also be combined with a previously-planned re-roofing programme, in order to minimise disruption for residents.
“Initiatives like this are a crucial part of the Council’s housing strategy. The efficiencies that will be saved through schemes like this one will make a huge difference to people’s lives. We are now looking at how we can extend this good practice in other parts of the borough,” added Paul Walsh, Assistant Director for Housing at Rotherham Council.
Rotherham Council declared a climate emergency in 2019 and has pledged to cut carbon emissions in the borough to net zero by 2040. This scheme in Maltby is expected to save more than 96,000kg of CO2 per year, while also helping residents reduce their energy bills.
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