£800,000 invested in older property improvement programme

Properties built in the 1950s have undergone a major transformation to make them more energy efficient and affordable.

People living in the Broadacres Housing Association homes in Potlands, Leeming Bar, North Yorkshire, say they are delighted with the work which has been carried out on their properties, describing them as now being like “new homes”.

Seventeen homes have benefited from the £800,000 makeover, carried out as part of Broadacres’ older property regeneration/retrofit programme.

The properties were identified as requiring work to comply with the national Decent Homes standard, namely reroofing and rendering, but Broadacres took advantage of this opportunity to also undertake some energy efficiency improvements at the same time.

This includes insulated render (to keep the homes warmer) and solar PV panels integrated into the roof tiles. PV panels convert sunlight directly into electricity and a smart export guarantee means customers will be paid for any electricity they do not use which goes back into the National Grid.

The homes have also benefited from the installation of new energy efficient doors, double-glazed windows, new cavity wall installation and extra insulation in lofts.

The average Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating post work on the homes was A92, which indicates ‘exceptionally energy-efficient’ properties.

All the work was carried out whilst the residents were in situ and among those who say they are delighted with the final results are Ashley and Debra Kirk, who have live in their homes for 22 years.

“We couldn’t be happier with how good our home now looks and how much money we have saved as a result of the energy efficiency work,” they say.

“We even bought an electric car because of having the solar panels which effectively pay for the charging of the car.”

Broadacres Chief Executive Claire Townson said: “As well as providing new affordable homes across North Yorkshire, over the last few years we have also undertaken a major programme of retrofit work to ensure our older properties are energy efficient and affordable for customers to keep warm.

“It’s pleasing to hear such nice comments from Mr and Mrs Kirk and our other customers who have had improvements carried out to their homes and we would like to thank them for their patience during the work programme.

“We are working hard to ensure all our homes have an energy efficiency rating of C or above over the coming years and work like this will also contribute to our target of achieving net zero carbon status as an organisation by 2050.”