DEPUTY prime minister and housing minister Angela Rayner has announced a further £350 million pledged toward Labour’s momentous 1.5 million home target. However, while building new homes is essential to addressing the planning crisis, Derek Horrocks, owner of retrofit decarbonisation provider Sustainable Building Services UK Ltd and chair of the National Home Decarbonisation Group, believes that we must not overlook another critical factor when it comes to meeting the housing crisis: decarbonisation of existing stock. He said:

While it’s reassuring seeing the government making strides in providing new stock, it’s important that with new-build homes taking centre stage in this discussion, we don’t lose focus on the work to be done on our existing housing stock. Bringing these existing homes up to standard – particularly when it comes to energy efficiency – can align with the visions for new homes, working side-by-side to tackle the housing shortages reported across national media every day.

It’s also important that the focus on new homes does not create a new divide in terms of the quality living conditions. Improving the energy efficiency of existing homes not only tackles the housing shortage, but also other wider crises people face – including physical and mental wellbeing, and fuel poverty. Simply put, it means that comfortable, safe and healthy living environments and affordable energy bills are shared across everyone in any kind of home – not confined to those in newer builds.

Though brilliant progress has been made in recent years installing retrofit decarbonisation measures in UK homes to bring them up to at least EPC rating C, there is still a journey ahead of us. Momentum is continuing to be promising, with the ongoing commitment to the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund (previously the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund) and Warm Homes: Local Authority Grant – along with additional funding announced in last year’s Autumn Budget and changes to the National Planning Policy Framework.

Together, our aim should be to completely decarbonise the UK’s current social housing stock as soon as possible, installing energy efficient upgrades to raise each home to at least EPC rating C. While certainly beneficial toward climate change, the impact we’re able to make in one home contributes massively to their wellbeing in multiple ways. Better energy efficiency can not only prevent health hazards like damp spreading but can also lower energy bills and provide a greater overall comfort. Put together, we’re making considerable progress against helping these families healthier – financially, physically, mentally, and socially.

So, amid the exciting headlines around new homes, and among the discourse around deliverability, it’s crucial we don’t become distracted and take our foot off the pedal elsewhere. We need to keep building on the already-strong momentum – making sure work to decarbonise and retrofit existing homes works in tandem with building new ones to meet the requirements of every local area and community.

Some of the focus must stay on our existing housing stock; otherwise, once the new homes are finally built, we risk creating a new problem – a property divide.

Learn more about Sustainable Building Services here: www.sustainablebuildinguk.com

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