Last year, we announced that a successful consortium bid led by the South West Net Zero Hub secured nearly £67 million from the Government’s Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund.
Work is now getting underway to help over 6,500 homes across the region become warmer and more energy efficient.
The funding is being matched by the 17 local authorities and social landlords who make up the South West consortium – bringing the total investment to over £142 million.
People living in social homes will benefit from improvements such as external wall, loft, cavity wall, and underfloor insulation. These measures will improve the properties’ overall energy performance to a minimum ‘C’ rating, making homes warmer and improving the comfort, health and well-being of families.
Some properties will also receive renewable technologies, such as solar panels or air source heat pumps.
Sophie Hughes, Senior Retrofit Manager at LiveWest gave us an update, as delivery of their project gets underway:
“We’re pleased to share that LiveWest has officially started delivering energy‑efficiency retrofits across the South West as part of the Warm Homes – Social Housing Fund Wave 3.
“Thanks to nearly £9 million in funding, our first five programme areas – Bristol and Weston‑super‑Mare, Totnes, Dartmoor, Somerset and Hayle in Cornwall – are now underway. Over the next 12 months, more than 300 homes will benefit from improvements designed to make them warmer, greener and more affordable to heat.
“The upgrades include enhanced insulation, heating system improvements and the installation of solar panels. These works support our commitment to ensuring all 40,000 LiveWest homes achieve an EPC rating of C or above by the end of 2028.
“This programme delivers multiple benefits for our customers and communities:
- Warmer homes
- Lower energy bills
- Reduced carbon emissions
We look forward to sharing more updates as the programme progresses.”
David Lewis, Programme Manager at South West Net Zero Hub, said:
“It’s great to see projects like this starting to deliver the measures that will make homes warmer and more comfortable to live in. The Hub’s Retrofit Team are playing a key role in bringing together the consortium and ensuring a collaborative approach to tackling fuel poverty and reducing carbon emissions across the region.
“The Government’s £15 billion ’Warm Homes Plan’ announced this week will build on this work with an additional £4.4 billion nationally for low-income and fuel poor households.”
Consortium members in the South West are:
- Aster
- Brighter Places
- Bristol City Council
- BrunelCare
- Cornwall Housing
- Curo
- GreenSquareAccord
- Homes in Somerset
- LiveWest
- Magna
- New Forest District Council
- North Devon Homes
- Ocean Housing
- SHAL Housing
- Somerset Council
- Southampton Council
- Westward Housing