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SPECIAL REPORT — LEVELLING UP & EMPOWERING COMMUNITIES
Air source heat pumps were installed in 60 homes at Stonewater’s Blackbird Leys scheme
Supporting communities to flourish Nicholas Harris, Chief Executive at leading housing provider Stonewater, discusses Levelling Up: The ambitious blueprint centred around empowering communities. he levelling up agenda was a core component of the Conservative party’s manifesto in the 2019 general election but until last month, there was little clarity on how exactly regional disparities will be tackled. Ambitious in its scope and aims, the long-anticipated Levelling Up White Paper (LUWP) sets out 12 national missions that provide a clear vision for how the Government intends to enable more people to access opportunities that will support them and their communities to flourish. While there is no denying that the LUWP provides hope — for those living in parts of the country that have for decades felt forgotten about — but what actions are taken next, will be critical. Delivering on the missions and achieving tangible change over the next eight years will require collaboration and an equally ambitious plan in place, sooner rather than later. In the same week the LUWP was published, a new Housing Minister was appointed — the 20th MP to hold the role since 1997 — but more importantly, rising energy costs dominated the headlines.
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Financial hardship These announcements were shortly followed with news that January inflation hit a 30-year high of 5.5%, resulting in the highest cost of living increase for 60 years — hitting those on the lowest or fixed incomes the hardest. In a first world country, having 3.16 million people (around 13.2% of households) estimated as living in fuel poverty in 2020 is simply unacceptable. Figures report that this was a 0.2% decrease from the year prior but do not necessarily reflect the stark reality and financial hardship many individuals and families are currently facing, following the ongoing repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic. With many more at risk of being stuck in the cycle of fuel poverty, the call for levelling up couldn’t be louder and it’s important that as a sector we ensure the provision of good-quality and energyefficient housing remains at the heart of the agenda. Ending fuel poverty can only be achieved if we tackle the root causes of poverty on one hand and improve the energy efficiency of our homes on the
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other. This is particularly important given that the Government’s latest figures show up to 3.9 million people live in social housing and these homes account for around 15% of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions.
Decarbonising homes In 2020, we commissioned research from the IPPR which mapped out a new ‘Home Improvement Plan’, a comprehensive strategy to deliver, at scale, the energy efficiency and low-carbon heating measures needed to reduce energy demand and emissions. The plan proposed how we can tackle fuel poverty and create employment opportunities — true levelling up. Since this report, we’ve worked on several innovative pilot projects aimed at decarbonising our existing homes. This has included having air source heat pumps installed in 60 homes at our Blackbird Leys scheme, as part of Energy Superhub Oxford, a world-first project showcasing an integrated approach to decarbonising power, heat and transport across the city.
