The retrofit revolution

Welcome to the Devonshire hamlet of Barbook. Set on the steep edge of a deep valley in the heart of Exmoor National Park, sandwiched between a river and the dark canopy of a forest are two semi-detached cottages that comprise Barbrook’s social housing offering. Just two years ago the properties were earmarked for demolition; now they have been thrust to the forefront of a retrofit technological revolution.

Energy Action Devon, a not-for-profit sustainability organisation, along with the owner, stock transfer association North Devon Homes, have received financial backing from the government to put Barbrook on the low carbon map by transforming it into an exemplar retrofit project in which the properties’ carbon emissions will be slashed by 94 per cent. They are hoping to create a blueprint that could be used by other social landlords across the country to meet the government’s ambitious goal of achieving an 80 per cent cut in carbon emissions from existing homes by 2050.

Hidden from sunlight and miles from any settlement of note, these two homes might appear unlikely choices for testing retrofit technology. But in the south west there are several thousand such isolated rural properties; the challenges Barbrook poses to the retrofit process is one of the main reasons the project has attracted government cash. It is one of four projects in the region to pick up an average £142,000 from the ‘retrofit for the future’ competition last month.

Reducing emissions

The government’s Technology Strategy Board is running the £17 million retrofit for the future programme to identify the most innovative means of reducing social homes’ emissions.

It also hopes the scheme will act as a catalyst for the nascent retrofit industry. After the judges turned away 151 projects in the first phase and a further 107 in the second and final stage, the Devonshire project was singled out as one of the competition’s top three schemes. It so impressed that it was showcased at the National Housing Federation’s Keeping the Roof On sustainable housing conference last month.

However, while Energy Action Devon and North Devon Homes will be proud of their achievement, it seems that the rest of the region is lagging behind. Of the 86 projects that won RFF grants, just four were based in the south west. As a point of comparison, London and the south east scooped up 45 contracts — and more than half of the available funding — despite accounting for around a quarter of the UK housing stock.

Gaining pace

The south west is already home to acres of wind turbines, the Eden Project, the Wave Hub (set to become the world’s largest wave farm — using ocean waves to generate electricity) and an increasingly buoyant low carbon economy. As a result, the region has earned itself a reputation for punching above its weight in other green sectors. So is it really off the pace in retrofit?

This gulf can certainly not be explained by a lack of ambition. Dave Wheeler, south west sustainability manager at the Homes and Communities Agency says the region has performed strongly in other, similar initiatives. And each of the south west contract winners maintain they faced strong competition from within the region — a claim that is backed up by the TSB application figures.

Of the 345 applications for a £20,000 slice of first phase ‘feasibility and design’ funding, 32 were from the south west - of which less than half were successful. Compared with London and the south east, which accounted for 104 first phase applications, the south west was found wanting; 80 of these were converted into first phase grants equating to a 77 per cent success rate. Distilled down to the final second phase, projects in London and the south east won 66 per cent of the contracts they applied for. However, the south west ended up with a success rate of just 27 per cent.

According to Neill Morgan, the TSB’s lead technologist for low impact building, the figures are skewed by the lumping together of the two wealthier regions of London and south east into one. Although he concedes that this does not fully account for difference in success rates or the weighting towards London and the south east, he argues that four projects is, in fact, about the right number for the south west.

‘According to the 2001 census figures around 5 per cent of the UK’s housing stock is based in the south west,’ he says. ‘You could say there is a correlation between that proportion of stock in the region and the proportion of retrofit projects that won contracts.’

He adds an alternative explanation: ‘The judging was entirely on merit of innovation. There are a lot of architects and carbon reduction firms in London and the south east that are very retrofit conscious. It is already very much up on their agenda - and that could also explain the difference.’

Change on the horizon

Whether or not it is not already, retrofit will soon be very much on the south west agenda. Inside Housing understands that in the coming months, Cornwall alone is in line for £18.5 million of European Union investment available through South West of England Regional Development Agency to benefit retrofit businesses and related construction companies. A further £4 million is available across the rest of the region and SWERDA is calling for expressions of interest from consortiums of organisations like the Energy Saving Trust to draw up programmes in April.

The EST would not comment on the EU funding. However, Mat Colmer, head of housing and supply chain at the trust, which is tasked with monitoring all 118 properties in the retrofit for the future programme over the next two years, says that quibbling over regional distribution distracts from the point of the scheme.

‘It is supposed to be a platform for innovation. The fact is, if you start saying “we don’t have enough projects in the region” for diversity’s sake, then you might end up with a project that is not as robust as another. Ultimately, the final results will be equally beneficial to housing associations across all regions.’

The real test of the scheme, however, must be what tenants make of their retrofitted homes. Driving instructor and passionate bird watcher Peter Walsh lives with his wife in a Penwith Housing Association project home in south Cornwall. He says he and his wife are ‘delighted’ that their two-bedroom house has been picked for the ‘heat pod’ scheme.

‘I know we are getting triple glazing pretty soon, which will be great as it will also keep noise out - and I have always liked the idea of having solar panels on the roof. I can’t wait to see the electricity bills go down too. From what I gather, we should be able to sell any excess energy back to the energy companies.’

Mr Walsh says he is not worried by the inconvenience of work being carried out on the house because ‘the way I see it, everyone is going to have to have this done sooner or later - so I am happy with sooner’. Words which must surely be music to TSB’s ears.

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