£7.1 m in funding secured to improve energy efficiency and quality of council housing

Lewisham Council has successfully bid for £7.1m of funding as part of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s to retrofit council homes in the borough.

This is part of a £1.29bn investment by Government to retrofit social homes across the UK as part of their Warm Homes Plan. Lewisham Council has also committed an additional £9.1m in funding for the project to maximise the benefits for our residents.

The funding will be used to upgrade council homes with better insulation, energy-efficient heating, and other improvements that will:

• reduce costs of energy bills – making homes more affordable to heat
• improve living conditions – tackling damp, mould, and cold homes
• help the environment – cutting carbon emissions by reducing wasted energy

The upgrades will focus on homes that are currently harder to keep warm, especially those identified in our recent housing survey as having low energy ratings, damp, or mould issues.

The Council recognises its pivotal role in coordinating efforts; accelerating progress, attracting investment, improving local access to supplies and providing training opportunities for local energy efficiency installers. While the SHF3 programme focuses on socially rented properties, additional grant-funded opportunities (including Energy Company Obligation (ECO) 4 and the Warm Homes: Local Grant) are available for low-income and vulnerable private residents (owner occupiers and landlords). 

Local authorities cannot directly improve all of the borough’s housing, however, we can share knowledge and experience from our retrofit programmes with the wider community. We remain committed to ensuring that homes across the borough are improved at the scale required to meet our Housing Strategy and climate action targets.

Newly adopted Housing Retrofit Strategy 

This news comes as Lewisham Council has just adopted a new Housing Retrofit Strategy. This key document sets out the ambition to fully retrofit all homes in the borough to achieve our climate action goals and reduce housing inequalities. 

This new round of funding will bring our Housing Retrofit Strategy to life, by: 

• targeting the least energy-efficient council homes
• reducing the overall energy use in the borough 
• reducing the overall demand for energy
• reducing damp and mould and improving ventilation and health outcomes for our residents

The estimated cost of fully retrofitting all homes in the borough is £3.2 billion, reflecting the scale of this challenge. However, this strategy adopts a pragmatic approach: 

• focusing on achievable, immediate steps that can be taken
• demonstrating success through innovation and partnerships
• exploring new opportunities to help achieve climate goals 

Read the full Housing Retrofit Strategy.

Mayor of Lewisham Brenda Dacres said:
“I am proud that Lewisham was one of the first local authorities to declare a Climate Emergency and now we are leading the way with innovative climate and housing improvement projects. 

“This new round of funding allows us to make up to 800 council homes warmer, healthier, more energy efficient and cheaper for council tenants to heat, which will considerably improve the lives of many Lewisham residents.

“Today, housing is recognised as a major contributor to carbon emissions, accounting for half of Lewisham’s total emissions. This highlights the urgent need for action. The Housing Retrofit Strategy is a central part of our Climate Action Plan, supporting the ambition for the borough to be net zero carbon by 2030."

Councillor Will Cooper, Cabinet Member for Better Homes, Neighbourhoods and Homelessness, said: 
“This funding will make a real day-to-day improvement to residents’ quality of life. Energy efficient homes are more comfortable homes and reducing bills puts money back into residents’ pockets – as well as reducing carbon emissions.

“As with many public services, we are facing stark choices as we struggle to keep up with rising costs and increasing demand. This funding is an absolute lifeline for residents of our worst performing buildings, and we have already committed to match the amount from our own capital investment programme. This means over £16m has now been earmarked specifically for energy efficiency improvements in our stock."