Work is underway to deliver £30m of energy efficiency improvements to hundreds of Council-owned homes across Swindon, as part of the Council’s work to invest in the maintenance and improvement of its housing stock.
The rollout of retrofit improvements over the next five years include UPVC window and door upgrades, roof replacements and upgrading gas central heating systems. Solar panels may also be installed on the replacement roofs of properties with three bedrooms or more.
The programme forms part of the Council’s long-term mission to build a greener Swindon and will start later this Spring.
The majority of the £30m investment is sourced through the Council’s ring-fenced housing budget (Housing Revenue Account) which holds rental income from tenants. This money can only be spent on the improvement and maintenance of Council-owned properties. The remaining funding was granted to the Council through the Government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.
At no cost to services funded through Council Tax, the investment is part of the Council’s plan to invest £250m on the maintenance and improvement of its homes over the next five years. The local authority plans to borrow up to £152m between 2025 and 2030 in plans which were agreed by Cabinet Members in February as part of the Council’s new Asset Management Strategy.
As part of this strategy, the Council has committed to developing a housing decarbonisation strategy, which will identify future funding to invest in further energy efficiency improvements to more social homes.
The work is being carried out alongside previously announced upgrades to 114 properties in Park South to achieve an Energy Performance Certificate rating of ‘C’. This includes providing these properties with external wall insulation and draught proofing to reduce heat loss, making them easier and cheaper to keep warm.
Councillor Janine Howarth, Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing, said: “We know how important it is that our tenants live in safe and warm homes. We have made a significant commitment to improving and maintaining all our homes and this work is part of our ambitious plans for Swindon.
“We are bringing forward plans to roll out further home energy improvements in the coming years through the delivery of our newly adopted Asset Management Strategy.”
Councillor Emma Bushell, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Organisational Oversight which includes climate change work, said: “Up to 75 per cent of a building’s energy is lost through the walls, roof, floors, windows and doors. That’s why as a social landlord we are making this £30m investment in measures including window, roof, door and central heating system upgrades to improve the energy efficiency of hundreds of our social homes.
“Some properties will also receive solar panels, so tenants will benefit from renewable energy. It’s one example of how we are progressing our long-term mission to ‘Build a Greener Swindon’.”