From 106 homes to 228: scaling up social housing retrofit delivery at Wealden District Council

Wealden District Council manages more than 3,000 social homes across its vast area in East Sussex, which spans 323 square miles from Pevensey on the south coast up to Frant on the Kent border and across to the border for Lewes and Bexhill.

As a part of its climate change strategy and action plan, the council is working to reduce emissions associated with domestic energy use and improve the energy performance of its properties to energy performance certificate (EPC) band C.

To support progression against these targets, the council is committed to upgrading homes across the district with energy efficiency measures designed to improve resident comfort and bring down energy bills.

To support progress against its goals, the council is utilising government funding for domestic retrofit projects.

Although its initial funding bid was for the upgrade of 106 properties, delivery through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) Wave 2.2 scheme exceeded this by more than double, with a total of 228 properties upgraded.

Wealden District Council said: “The funding has allowed us to go further, faster.

“As much as it’s hard work, it’s worth doing and the more we get done, the better it is for our residents.”

Wealden District Council has a commitment to invest in energy efficiency projects as a part of its long-term strategy.

To support its ambitions, the council procured Osborne Energy as a long-term partner for this work.

With Osborne already appointed when the funding bid was developed, the council and contractor worked together to prepare the bid for a programme of work they knew they could achieve. 

This meant that, when funding was awarded, Osborne Energy was already on board, understood the condition of the housing stock and was ready to start work immediately.

Having an established partnership also meant decisions could be made quickly, helping maintain momentum once funding was confirmed.

A large focus during project planning and delivery was on resident engagement – both to get the initial resident buy-in and to keep them engaged throughout the many visits required to complete the works.

Osborne Energy ensured that dedicated team members were available to discuss the proposals with residents, answer questions and explain what the upgrades would mean in a clear and accessible way. 

By taking the time to build trust and confidence from the outset, the team helped residents better understand the benefits of the energy efficiency measures and supported the successful delivery of the programme.

Watch our short video with programme manager Kate Watson to learn more about her role in getting resident buy-in and why this is so important to delivery success.

The council and Osborne Energy realised early on that resident buy-in wasn’t only about education, but also familiarity with the new technologies they were proposing to install.

With measures like solar PV and air source heat pumps unfamiliar to many, the comfort of more familiar, fossil-fuel based measures was a known barrier. 

The team wanted to do all they could to build confidence in the new technologies.

Osborne’s managing director John Puttick said: “Seeing is believing.

“We invited residents to come and see and feel so they could understand how it’s going to look and how it’s going to affect you in a positive way.”

To support this approach, Osborne worked with manufacturers and suppliers to build demonstration areas where residents could physically see, touch, feel and engage with the new technologies.

This included ‘roadshow’ style vans built by Ideal Heating, which housed air source heat pumps and internal units and would drive out to visit residents at their homes so they could see firsthand the size and appearance of the technology.

By allowing residents to see the technologies in real homes and neighbourhoods, the team helped make unfamiliar measures feel more accessible and easier to understand.

Early adopter properties in the street were also used as a way to showcase the measures to neighbours helping residents visualise what the upgrades could look like installed in their own homes.

Rather than using internal retrofit coordination and design services, Osborne Energy outsourced this work to an organisation called Cotality.

This approach helps to ensure quality and compliance with the relevant regulations and standards, ultimately ensuring that residents feel the intended benefits of upgrades once they’re installed within their homes.

Independent retrofit coordination also provided reassurance that design decisions were being independently reviewed throughout the programme.

John added: “We don’t mark our own homework.”

Watch our short video with Cotality retrofit coordinator Rebecca Shaw to learn more about the role of a retrofit coordinator and why design and compliance are so important.

Looking ahead, the council is continuing its work to upgrade homes across Wealden through further funding from the government’s Warm Homes schemes.

Building on the experience and lessons learnt during earlier programmes, this funding supports continued acceleration of progress towards the council’s net zero and EPC targets. 

The programme has not only improved the energy performance of hundreds of homes, but also provided valuable experience that will shape the future retrofit delivery across the district.