Phoenix Community Housing Co-operative is set to become more energy efficient after receiving a £135,000 funding boost to retrofit its housing stock!

CCH has been successful in its bid for funding through the government’s Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund. Funds will be used to upgrade 14 co-operative properties to an energy performance certificate rating of C or above – saving residents money and reducing carbon footprint.

This grant funding represents a revamp of the Government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) that helps Registered Providers access capital grant funding of £7,500 per property to pay for energy saving upgrades.

Minister for Energy Consumers, Miatta Fahnbulleh, said:

“Living in a warm, comfortable home should not be a luxury. It is a right that has been out of reach for too many people for too long.

By giving this funding to local authorities and social housing providers we are delivering on our promise to improve the homes of thousands of people across England.

As part of our Plan for Change, we are powering on with our Warm Homes Plan, upgrading cold and draughty homes so they are warmer, cleaner, and cheaper to live in.”

CCH has worked with its delivery partners, Retrofit Right & Unyte Energy, to develop an innovative, replicable structure that will provide value for money and speed up the installation of retrofit measures for our other housing co-operative members.

Funding will be used in three ways:

• in partnership with residents, we will develop a net zero route map for each property centred around a 25-year plan for stock upgrade
• a first wave of capital works will deliver a series of fabric-first upgrades and appropriate space-heating demand reduction to achieve at least EPC band C
• one property will be used as a pilot to install low carbon heating to transition space and hot water heating away from gas; decarbonising energy use and moving towards renewable energy

Colin Lock, Phoenix Manager, said:

“Phoenix Community Housing Co-operative were in a position to make a bid for the Warmer Homes for Social Housing Wave 3 fund, because of previous work we did with Retrofit Right and CCH. We made a commitment to progress this bid with the knowledge we had gained from our involvement in the 2022 CCH Consortium SHDF Wave 2 bid.

Phoenix is committed to enhancing the Energy Performance of our members’ homes, making them more comfortable to live in and lower their energy costs. By succeeding with our bid, we will be able to go further and faster with this process.

We would like to thank our members for their co-operation, Liam and Alex from Retrofit Right for their technical expertise, and to James from CCH for his support, assistance and knowledge in preparing a very good bid in a short space of time.

We are excited to plan the delivery stage of work to our properties and look forward to working with our partners to achieve our objectives.”

The bid

The application details a comprehensive approach to energy efficiency and heating measures, emphasising a “fabric first” strategy with the following suite of measures proposed to reduce heat loss and lower energy consumption, these include:

• draught-proofing and air-tightness
• energy efficient appliances and lighting
• floor insulation
• external and internal solid wall insulation
• loft insulation
• new/replacement external doors and windows

There is a commitment with the bid to adopt low carbon, bio-based materials, which includes sheep’s wool, woodfibre and hempcrete insulation. These measures are projected to significantly improve the property’s energy performance and improve resident comfort.

The application highlights that measures are prioritised to reduce energy use and bills, and that for properties where low carbon heating (LCH) is being employed, fabric improvements are ensured before any switch to new systems like Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHPs).

Phoenix’s stock assessment focused on the D-G rated properties they own (26 properties, managing a further 17). The assessment was carried out by the CCH’s Retrofit team and it’s Associate partners, Retrofit Right. This has been supplemented by Phoenix’s ongoing condition surveys.

CCH Retrofit Associate, James Neward, said:

“I’m delighted to finally secure this funding for the members of Phoenix to retrofit their homes. It’s a pleasure to work with Phoenix and I’m pleased to have been able to meet the wider membership at their AGM and visit the members who stand to benefit from this grant in their homes.

The success of this pilot bid not only helps CCH support Phoenix as a pioneering CCH member co-operative in upgrading their homes, but also helps build a network of skilled retrofit partners in London. We hope this work will trial a way of working that can benefit the co-operative housing sector more widely.”

Next steps

The total project is estimated to cost £305,000 with a co-funding commitment from Phoenix to match the government grant of £135,000. CCH attended the Phoenix AGM in April where the membership signed off on the match funding.

CCH is working with the Phoenix team to finalise the delivery team, plan the project and finalise the grant funding agreement. The ambition is for works to start this Autumn with the project due for completion in 2026.

Find out more about our Retrofit Service here.