A consortium between Silva Homes and the Society of St. James (SSJ) has secured £1,428,000 in funding from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero as part of Wave 2.2 of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.
Silva Homes (part of the Abri group) and the SSJ will be retrofitting 300 homes across the south east over the next two years. This will see the Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) ratings increase in homes that are currently rated below Band C.
Once the upgrades have been implemented, it is anticipated that customers impacted will save around £400 every year on their energy bills.
Rose Bean, Director of Assets and Sustainability at Abri, said:
“We’re pleased that Silva Homes was successful in its bid. This funding will have a positive impact on our customers, especially at a time the cost of living is so high. We believe that everyone has the right to a good quality, safe and sustainable home, and we are committed to making sure our homes reach EPC Band C by 2030.”
Abri is one of the founding members of the Greener Futures Partnership, and in 2023, the partnership secured more than £40 million in funding from the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund to retrofit 5,495 homes.
Gary Nesbitt, Director of Asset Management at the Society of St. James, said:
“As a smaller housing charity, directly accessing grant schemes such as the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund can at times be challenging. Being part of a consortium has enabled us to secure this much needed funding, allowing us to not only make a real difference to our residents’ homes, but to also have a positive impact on reducing our housing's overall carbon footprint.”
To increase the EPC ratings, work will be carried out to improve the thermal performance, reduce carbon emissions and stabilize the fuel bills of the targeted homes.
The Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, administered by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, has recently allocated over £75 million of grant funding to councils and housing associations as part of Wave 2.2.