Greener Herts secures SHDF funding
A Hertfordshire-based housing consortium of four organisations has made a successful application to the Government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF). The successful bid will enable members of the partnership - Dacorum Borough Council along with housing associations B3Living, settle and Watford Community Housing - to make energy-efficiency improvements worth more than £40million to their housing stock. Over 1,500 social housing properties will benefit from improvements through the funding.
The funding has been secured through SHDF Wave 2.1, which follows the SHDF Demonstrator and Wave 1 competition and will see delivery until September 2025.
Housing associations B3Living, settle and Watford Community Housing originally joined forces through the Greener Herts partnership in 2021, which was formed to enable the three sustainability-focused housing associations to achieve more tangible results towards a shared ambition to make their homes both energy-efficient and cost-effective for customers. The group has a joint ambition to achieve a completely net-zero carbon footprint by 2050.
Having joined forces with Dacorum Borough Council last year, an active partner of the Hertfordshire Climate Change and Sustainability Partnership, the bid submitted to Wave 2.1 of the decarbonisation fund will see homes across all four organisations receive energy-efficiency improvement works including loft insulation, external wall insulation, draught proofing, installation of PV panels and low-energy lighting.
Wave 2.1 of the SHDF has awarded £778m of Government funding to support the installation of energy performance measures in social homes in England.
The funding now secured by the consortium reflects a combined pledge of £25million from B3Living, Dacorum Borough Council, settle and Watford Community Housing, with an additional £14million provided by the SHDF.
Gavin Cansfield, Chief Executive at settle, said:
“On behalf of colleagues across B3Living, Dacorum, settle and Watford Community Housing, we are all delighted to have secured this funding from the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund. This will enable us to accelerate investment in our homes and work towards our targets to be net zero by 2050. The importance of this investment is clear - we will be able to support more residents to live in lower carbon homes, with a lower cost of living and deliver benefits to the environment more quickly.
“The strength of partnership working between our organisations has been integral to securing this funding. We look forward to continuing our successful work together, with suppliers and partners at the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero as we progress the important work enabled by this funding.”
Lord Callanan, Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance, said:
“This investment will help thousands of households to heat their homes for less, keep them warm for longer and could save hundreds on their annual energy bill.
“The green energy sector is growing, and this funding will support green jobs and provide the training needed to deliver these vital upgrades to homes.”
For more information about Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Wave 2 please visit the DESNZ website (Apply for the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund: Wave 2.1 (closed to applications) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)