Housing Industry Leaders Issue 13

ISSUE 13

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What UK Procurement Law Shake-ups Will Mean for 2024 and Beyond Also In This Issue: Procast: Boosting Retrofitting, Connectivity, and Engagement Page 04 Scottish Gas: Transitioning to Net-Zero One Conversation at a Time Page 20 January Edition

HOUSING INDUSTRY LEADERS

ISSUE 13

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What UK Procurement Law Shake-ups Will Mean for 2024 and Beyond

04 Boosting Retrofitting, Connectivity, and Engagement

20 Transitioning to Net Zero One Conversation at a Time

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08 Every Drop Makes a Difference

24 Podcast Write Up: Making the Best Use of Our Empty Homes

12 Delivering Culturally Appropriate Housing in a Diverse Britain

26 Public Sector Round Up

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Chelsea Bailey Multi Media Journalist

Olivia Staveley Graphic Designer

Hannah Wintle Multi Media Journalist

FOREWORD As a new dawn emerges for the vision of UK housing, recent reports and policy announcements are welcomed news for all working in the industry. Housing Industry Leaders explores what this means for housebuilders and tenants in the UK. In this issue, Housing Industry Leaders analyses how the housing sector can amplify confidence in smart technologies, how to deliver culturally appropriate housing in a diverse Britain, and gives you an insight into the biggest public sector announcements of the month.

With a specific focus on how the social housing sector can expand its housing stock faster, Housing Industry Leaders dives into the most topical discussions and debates about the future of the housing industry.

“Changes to procurement could reshape the sector and achieve better value for money.”

IN THIS ISSUE

Floyd March Editor f.march@peloton-events.co.uk

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PROCAST

Boosting Retrofitting, Connectivity, and Engagement Procast Group is a principal contractor that delivers service and commercial performance to both public and private sectors while focusing on responding to the changing needs of clients.

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BY CHELSEA BAILEY

They are working to highlight the importance of retrofitting our current housing stock to see energy consumption and carbon emissions reduced.

On completion, tenants have been able to see a reduction in their energy costs, which has helped Argyll Community Housing Association work towards its carbon-reduction targets.

PROCAST GROUP HAS WORKED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LOCAL HOUSING ASSOCIATIONS

All the work carried out was to governmentrecognised PAS2035 and Microgeneration Certification Scheme standards.

Recently, Procast Group completed the retrofit of more than 100 homes in a £5 million full-scale energy performance upgrade across Scotland.

The project formed part of ACHA’s long-term PAS2035 retrofit programme and is similar to other programmes carried out by Procast in the Renfrewshire and North Lanarkshire Council areas.

The properties were spread across various locations in Argyll, Tighnabruaich, Dunoon, Tarbert, Helensburgh, Campbeltown, and on the island of Islay.

As with other similar projects, it will feature the latest Mitsubishi Ecodan ASHP systems and is being delivered through the Procurement for Housing framework.

Working in partnership with Argyll Community Housing Association, Procast Group completed a full retrofit upgrade involving external wall insulation, internal wall insulation, new doors, windows, mechanical ventilation, insulation, and air source heat pump installations.

CONNECTING REMOTE COMMUNITIES IS ESSENTIAL IN BOOSTING CONFIDENCE

The project that started in mid-August 2022, has been phased over a period of six months.

IMPLEMENTING NEW HEATING SYSTEMS WILL HELP TO DRIVE COSTS DOWN FOR TENANTS Housing Industry Leaders spoke to David Chapman, Group Growth & Development Manager at Procast Group about the project.

David began by explaining that Procast took a whole-house approach to the retrofitting project: “We focused on tackling the fabric first and then introduced the energyrenewable measures to help with a reduced running cost of these properties.”

By taking a fabric-first approach, David added: “We are making the property more energyefficient prior to implementing the new heating systems. Once we’ve done the fabric, we can install much smaller air-source heat pumps, which will cost a lot less to run.”

With its retrofitting project, David expressed that the local community has been put at the heart of it: “It means we can introduce a much cleaner and easier heating system. Not only does this provide health benefits to tenants but it boosts the community too.”

The wide geographical spread of the properties presented challenges for Procast in terms of getting their trams and materials to their locations on time.

In addition, as the homes were all located in remote areas, the majority of the homes were off the gas network, David revealed: “It is highly important to tackle these difficult-to-heat properties because there is a lack of insulation measures there meaning these homes are going to cost a lot to heat for people.”

Continuing, David said that it is important to ensure that these remote areas are given the opportunity to be connected with major towns and cities: “Projects like this are essential to letting the tenants know that remote areas have not been forgotten about.”

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PRO PROCAST IS LEAVING A LASTING LEGACY IN SCOTLAND Building this connectivity and confidence is key to seeing renewable technologies be implemented and for Scotland and beyond to reach our net zero targets.

Procast is also working to boost the confidence of tenants who may be wary about the introduction of renewable technology, David expressed: “We engage with local tenants who are worried about renewable technology to show them exactly what is happening and we do a pilot house in the area to show them the upgrade of external works and explain the benefits.”

This education means that Procast sees a bigger buy-in and encourages conversations among the community. Once members of the community have these renewable technologies implemented in their homes, they can talk to others about what they have experienced.

On this, David stated: “It leads to a much more improved community spirit and helps tenants to be prouder of their properties.”

It isn’t just tenants that Procast focuses on engaging with to ensure that the community feels confident about the implementation of the new renewable technology, David said:

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“We always try and engage with the local suppliers, contractors, and workforce to get them on board as well.”

David explained that this will help to futureproof the technology: “We engage with local heating engineers, electricians, joiners, and more so that in years to come after us, any maintenance required will be able to be done by local people, helping to keep the income in the local community.”

A JOINT VENTURE WILL BE NEEDED TO UPGRADE MORE HOMES To see more homes become upgraded, David believes that collaboration will be crucial: “We all need to work together. If we worked as a joint venture between Scotland’s housing associations and local councils, we would be able to meet targets quicker, upgrade even more homes, and drive down the cost of the projects as well.”

They are calling on the Scottish Government to look at bringing local housing associations and local councils together with the private sector to potentially see thousands of properties upgraded and put a strong plan in place for the next few years.

Retrofit upgrades such as this project by Procast will be key in reducing building and home energy usage, future-proofing homes, and creating thriving communities across Scotland and beyond.

O David Chapman, Group Growth & Development Manager at Procast Group: “What we are trying to do in all of our projects is engage with the local community from day one.”

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TRITON SHOWERS

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BY CHELSEA BAILEY

EVERY DROP MAKES A DIFFERENCE Triton Showers is aiming to make showering more sustainable and help to drive wider behavioural change over time.

that carbon was a key focus for us. We worked with the Carbon Trust and we looked at our Scope 1 and 2 footprint.”

It is working to decarbonise its full end-to-end processes and value chain, including the packaging it uses, the way its service vehicles are powered, how it develops products, and how it manages returns and recycling.

In 2021, Triton Showers achieved the Carbon Trust Standard, with 2022 seeing it achieve ‘Carbon Neutral’ certification for the first time.

In FY22/23 Triton Showers achieved a 4.6 per cent reduction in its Scope 1 and 2 emissions.

At the same time, Triton Showers is focusing on educating its customers on how they can use water and energy more efficiently, and therefore save money and carbon impact, by sharing insights with its partners.

TRITON SHOWERS HAS ACHIEVED A 4.6 PER CENT REDUCTION IN SCOPE 1 AND 2 EMISSIONS Housing Industry Leaders spoke to Daniel Lintell, Sustainability Manager at Triton Showers about how it is focusing on driving wider behavioural change.

He began by highlighting that at the beginning of the decarbonisation journey for Triton Showers, the company realised the important role it was playing: “We started around four years ago and very quickly it became clear

After looking at the full spectrum of emissions from Scope 1 and 2 in detail, the next task was to look at Scope 3 emissions, Daniel explained: “For us, we had to look in detail at all of the things we buy and use to make our showers, any services we use, the waste we generate, business travel, how our employees get to work and so on.”

This work helped Triton establish a baseline footprint, from which the company has set its ambitious Net Zero target of 2035.

THE CARBON IMPACT ASSOCIATED WITH OF PRODUCT MATERIALS HAD TO BE EXPLORED IN DETAIL Addressing Scope 3 emissions was a strategic imperative for Triton Showers in order for it to meet its sustainability targets.

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Addressing these emissions not only aligns with the whole of the UK’s efforts to combat climate change but also presents benefits in terms of risk management and long-term business resilience.

To explore its Scope 3 emissions in detail, Daniel revealed that Triton Showers had to break down the components of its products: “We had to figure out what everything in our products was made out of, this involved us weighing everything.

“This included not just the materials but the boxes that all of the materials came in because those things only exist to get the product to us.”

To ensure that it continues on its carbon reduction path, Triton Showers has undertaken various tasks to implement sustainable materials into the organisation.

Some examples of this include a roll-out of 100 per cent recycled plastic bags in its consumerfacing products and the introduction of circular principles throughout its operations.

This includes investigating the re-use of returned products and materials (where appropriate), incoming supply chain packaging, and ‘design for recycling’ where products and systems are developed to assist with more sustainable material recycling.

TRITON SHOWERS HAS BROKEN DOWN ITS DECARBONISATION GOALS INTO SIX PROJECTS To further reflect its commitment to meeting net zero and having a positive impact, Triton Showers has set up the ‘Sustainability 6’ initiative.

The initiative consists of six long-term multiyear projects that are all targeted at reducing the company’s carbon footprint, each with a different specific focus.

Each one of the projects is set up and framed with an end goal in mind and Daniel stated that there is a different team focusing on each one.

Daniel said: “Each of these projects has been assigned a board member as sponsor to highlight the importance and drive progress.

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Each cross-functional project is then led by one of our senior managers who have then built a team from within the organisation.”

The teams are empowered to identify and put in place the actions that will directly impact the carbon footprint of Triton Showers and its glide path to net zero.

EDUCATING PEOPLE IS KEY TO DECARBONISING WATER AND ENERGY USAGE By reducing its own carbon footprint, Daniel explained that Triton is hoping to inspire others to shower more sustainability in the future but it all comes down to making people aware.

He said: “It is about putting it on people’s radar that there is huge potential for decarbonisation here. The trajectory is promising, there are huge gains that can be made and some of that is being careful with our water usage.”

Triton Showers is working to improve the circularity of its products by introducing sustainability measures and reporting across the business.

Its work on becoming a more sustainable business and educating its customers on how they can use water and energy more efficiently through its products will be key in helping create a positive impact on the environment, society, and the economy.

“WE WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THAT EVERY DROP MAKES A DIFFERENCE.” DANIEL LINTELL, SUSTAINABILITY MANAGER AT TRITON SHOWERS

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BY HANNAH WINTLE

Delivering Culturally Appropriate Housing in a Diverse Britain While the UK grows an increasingly ethnically diverse population, the effects of merging cultures are felt more heavily in some towns and cities than in others. In these regions, the need for housing to address the needs of ethnic minorities is amplified. Housing Industry Leaders spoke to Lee Bloomfield, CEO of Manningham Housing Association in Bradford to gain an insight into how they deliver housing that is conscious of ethnic minority needs.

According to the 2021 Census, 82% of people in England and Wales are white, while the remaining 18% belong to a black, Asian, mixed, or other ethnic group. In Bradford, West Yorkshire, ethnic minorities form a larger percentage, making up 32.6% of the population.

Of this number, Asian and Asian British individuals make up the majority, at 26.8% of Bradford’s population. Their housing needs can often be unique and under-addressed by some social landlords. Seeking to address these inequalities, Manningham Housing Association (MHA) have made huge strides in delivering suitable housing for Bradford’s ethnic minority population.

Through their team of multilingual staff, array of support services on offer, and housing design aspects implemented specifically to reflect the cultural needs of residents, MHA are continuously striving to achieve their core mission of ensuring the housing needs of the South Asian community are met.

MANNINGHAM HOUSING ASSOCIATION WAS FORMED IN RESPONSE TO RESEARCH

In the early 1980s, research undertaken by the Bangladeshi Youth Organisation identified a number of housing challenges faced by Black and Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities in the region.

“[The Bangladeshi Youth Organisation] got a small grant from Bradford Council and it was to look into the housing needs of BAME communities, particularly those of South Asian and Bangladeshi background, because their housing needs weren’t being met.”

-Lee Bloomfield, CEO of MHA These challenges included a shortage of affordable housing, discrimination from private landlords, poor quality housing, and a lack of understanding of cultural needs. Moreover, the research found that these communities were often concentrated in certain areas of the city, which led to social isolation and a lack of opportunities.

This research formed the foundation of MHA, which commenced operations in 1986. To date, the association manages over 1,400 homes and houses over 6,000 residents in Bradford, Keighley, and Craven. Over 80% of their residents are of a BAME origin, though MHA caters to all those in housing need.

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MHA HOUSING ADDRESSES THE NEEDS OF ETHNIC MINORITIES At MHA, the housing needs of their BAME residents are addressed both inside the home and out. On an organisational level, MHA offers various services to support their residents, as well as working with other organisations in the community.

Furthermore, their team of multilingual staff are on hand to speak residents in their own language, making any necessary communications more comfortable and inclusive. MHA’s support services also cover employment and digital skills.

In terms of the housing on offer, MHA offers properties with up to six bedrooms to cater for larger families. Lee also highlighted the importance of designing these homes with sensitivity to cultural needs.

He explained: “When we build or acquire new homes, we take into account the cultural needs of residents. Particularly around Muslim residents and the bathing facilities and washing facilities, and the way the toilets face is a cultural issue.

“Also, given the fact that we do see some larger families within the community, when we fit a kitchen, we realise that a bog-standard kitchen probably will not stand the test of time if there are quite a lot of children swinging on doors and those kinds of things!

“So, we make sure that the fittings that we put in will stand that test of time for having large families using them day in, day out. It’s those kinds of things that make Manningham quite different.”

However, the support MHA offer for ethnic minorities in the region doesn’t end with housing. Their Community Investment Team actively strives to improve the lives of local residents, with a particular focus on BAME communities.

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Their successful Building Bridges Bradford Project, which was launched in 2019, was a response to the rise in hate crime and community tensions in the city, and sought to build bridges between different communities and promote social cohesion through community events, educational workshops, understanding programs around faith and LGBTQ+ issues, and mental health support.

Speaking about the continuous engagement between MHA and their residents, Lee added: “I think that’s one of the key differences, I think from being a small BAME community housing association is that the level of trust and interaction between the tenant and the landlord.

“A lot of our staff are very local. They have grown up in the communities that they’re working in and know the communities well, and know the organisations that work within those communities.”

POLICY CHANGES SHOULD ENSURE THAT THE HOUSING NEEDS OF ETHNIC MINORITIES ARE MET In order to be more inclusive for ethnic minorities throughout the UK, national policy must reflect the need for culturally sensitive housing. MHA have offered the following suggestions: •Increased funding and grant rates for new social housing to enable the building of bigger homes •Stronger protections against discrimination in the private rental sector •More investment in community regeneration programs Lee also acknowledged the need for funding for older BAME residents to build housing suited to their cultural needs. He explained: “Inter-generational living is not as prevalent as

it used to be because a lot of younger BAME people now have very active, busy lives and can’t always look after their elders like they used to.

“There’s been a cultural shift in that respect. It’s an oversimplification when people say that in BAME communities, particularly South Asian communities, look after their elderly family; that is changing.”

“We need funding for older BAME residents to build housing that is suitable to their cultural needs including extra care housing and schemes that lend themselves to BAME residents’ needs. This includes those wanting to downsize from larger homes to smaller homes and ensuring that wraparound support is provided there as well, for example.”

With relevant policy changes ensuring that ethnic minority housing needs are met throughout the country, the prevalence of discrimination in the housing sector could be reduced, ensuring adequate and appropriate housing for all.

At MHA, ensuring that housing caters to BAME needs is at the forefront of the agenda, and with customer satisfaction levels consistently in the 90% plus bracket, their approach seems to be having the desired effect.

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ISSUE 13

What UK Procurement Law Shake-ups Will Mean for 2024 and Beyond UK Procurement Law is undergoing a revamp to provide significant changes around transparency, accountability and efficiency of public sector contract delivery. What will this mean for procurement in 2024 and beyond, particularly in the housing sector?

Focussing on the specific changes to UK procurement processes, in which there will be around 800, it is hoped that procurement will be quicker, simple and more transparent.

SCOTLAND TO RETAIN ITS OWN REGULATORY FRAMEWORK “The new bill applies to all contracting authorities in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. However, Scotland will not be participating in the new bill and will retain its own procurement regulations.”

Currently, procurement law stands in four different regulations; the new Procurement Bill is a consolidation of all regulations into one.

Part of the changes were described by Bidding Ltd in their latest report: “Organisations now face the challenge of actively monitoring and demonstrating contract performance, whilst continuing to deliver their core services.

“Securing tenders and winning contracts is a highly competitive process that demands a comprehensive understanding of the procurement regulations, the full bid writing process and the buyers’ expectations.”

Given the upcoming changes in the Procurement Bill, it is important that everybody involved in the bidding process fully understands what this means for them and their organisation, but also what they need to do moving forward.

With increasing pressures on government spending especially within the social housing sector, the new UK Procurement Bill, which has passed the House of Lords and the House of Commons and is now in the final stages before Royal Assent, will focus on shifting the emphasis towards value, performance, and outcome-based measurements.

The report added: “Essentially, the new bill should create a simpler process with a more transparent system, allowing the government to disqualify poor-performing suppliers, simultaneously opening up the market and increasing the chances of SMEs winning contracts.”

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In the current system, there have been considerable loopholes which have often led to criticism over fairness and lack of competition, thus leading to less value for money and more requirements for risk mitigation.

Through the following five core factors at the heart of the new legislation, the new process could ease current constraints. However, clear messaging is required to ensure a smooth transition into more modern practices.

The first, and arguably the most important part of the Law to change post-Brexit, is the reduction of bureaucracy. The report picked up on this notion: “Currently, there are over 250 complicated bureaucratic rules that govern public spending in the EU, resulting in a significant amount of red tape.

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“Moving away from EU directives has created an opportunity to better customise our procurement requirements. This shift has meant that there has been a regeneration of the idea of Buying British and supporting domestic opportunities.”

Naturally, this leads to the simplification of procurement processes. By consolidating all four regulations into one Bill, reducing bureaucracy and the removing red tape of EU procurement regulations, there are far fewer hurdles to navigate, allowing a transformation to focus on what is truly essential for the contract.

The three aspects of this include: “To become easier to procure in emergency situations, demonstrated as important in the pandemic. The ‘tell us once’ digital platform proposed by the government improves the ease of data-sharing and reducing possible tender procedures from five to two.”

The Procurement Law changes hopes to produce a fairer system which will enhance SMEs chances of winning tenders while punishing underperforming suppliers that have been able to dominate the procurement processes under current rules.

If this update system does allow for a fairer system, it could see the government having the ability to disqualify poorly performing suppliers.

This, in turn, enhances the chances for SMEs to secure contracts.

DEBARMENTS AND SMES TO SEE RAPID CHANGES IN PRACTICES

“The Bill promotes fair competition, empowers SMEs, and prioritises social value. It reduces bureaucracy, streamlines the procurement process, and facilitates innovation.”

The report expanded on the debarment implications: “If there is evidence that a company has failed to deliver the promised service quality in the past, they will be ineligible to bid for future work. This provides new companies of all sizes with equal contract accountability and ensures that the public receives value for their money while getting the expected level of goods or service.”

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“These changes also permit the exclusion of suppliers, both in the UK and abroad, who may have previously underperformed on government work or who are involved in modern slavery or other human rights abuses.”

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On SMEs: “The amendments aim to facilitate small and medium-sized businesses in winning a more significant share of the £300 billion worth of goods, services, and works that the government procures annually.”

THIS PLATFORM SHOULD HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND:

THESE FRESH AND FLEXIBLE CHANGES BENEFIT SMES BY:

• The amount of money the public sector spends on acquiring essential goods and services.

• Creating greater visibility of upcoming work, allowing more time to prepare for bidding.

• Introducing a new central platform that displays future work in each area, making it easier to search and reducing the chances of missing opportunities.

• Reducing unnecessary insurance costs for suppliers before they even bid for a contract.

• Enforcing prompt payment, ensuring that everyone in the public sector supply chain receives payment within 30 days, eliminating the need for a large cash reserve in case of delayed payment.

• Implementing a new competitive flexible procedure that allows contractors to incorporate more innovation into the process, benefiting smaller tech start-ups.

• Consolidating the registration system into a single website for improved time efficiency. It supports commissioners in prioritising local suppliers.

TRANSPARENCY: Procurement is extremely expensive, which is evidenced by the fact that one in every £3 of public money is spent on public procurement.

Given this substantial volume of public funds dedicated to procurement, it is understandable that there are increasing pressures on government spending.

“Consequently, with these new changes, there will be much more transparency in how this money is being allocated and ensuring the supplier’s performance matches their promise.

“Moving forward, there will be a single system that anyone can access, enabling people to search and understand what the UK public sector intends to purchase, the amount it is spending, and with whom” added authors of the report.

• Current and future procurement opportunities created in the UK public sector.

• The outcomes of contracts - whether they were completed on time and within budget.

• The true lifecycle of government contracts, including how the final amount spent on a contract may differ from its original intended value or how often contracts have needed to be extended.

• The various avenues available to contracting authorities to enter the market and the amounts spent through each of these.

• The companies are banned from winning future work due to fraud, corruption, or persistent poor performance.

• Who benefits from public funds, not just the company’s winning contracts but also the ownership of these companies.

• Pipelines of future work.

Concluding the report, Housing Industry Leaders heard: “The new UK Procurement Bill marks a significant shift in public sector procurement, with numerous changes aimed at enhancing transparency, accountability, and performance management.

These changes bring a host of benefits for all stakeholders involved, including cost savings, increased productivity, wider opportunities, and improved quality of public services.

“With these new changes, there will be much more transparency in how this money is being allocated and ensuring the supplier’s performance matches their promise.”

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SCOTTISH GAS

ISSUE 13

TRANSITIONING TO NET ZERO. ONE. CONVERSATION. AT. A. TIME. “There is no silver bullet to decarbonisation, there are a whole host of different measures that people will need to take. Those valuable conversations have to happen one-on-one.”

Boosting the importance of net zero to communities around Scotland is essential to seeing the implementation of renewable technologies on a large scale and reaching our decarbonisation targets.

Scottish Gas is focusing on encouraging community activity around Scotland through net zero roadshows, working with the Scottish Rugby Union, and educating young people.

SCOTTISH GAS IS EDUCATING LOCAL COMMUNITIES ON NET ZERO THROUGH ROADSHOWS Housing Industry Leaders spoke to Professor Steve Petrie, Regional Director: Scottish Gas Zero at Scottish Gas. Steve began by explaining how Scottish Gas through its net zero roadshows is bringing its products to communities so that people can understand net zero more clearly.

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BY CHELSEA BAILEY

works with each club to understand their specific circumstances: “We get to know the club, the committee, the club president, and the fans. We find out how they heat the building and how they use it. From this, it gives us a good understanding of how they are using energy and here we can identify where the opportunities to improve are. Every rugby club is different.”

He said: “We recently did three roadshows in the north of Scotland. We brought all of our experts and equipment and opened the village hall doors. People came to find out more about net zero, and this is all part of what we will continue to do to be communityactivated.”

THE SCOTTISH RUGBY UNION IS MAKING RETROFIT UPGRADES A REALITY

GETTYIMAGES.CO.UK

Sports clubs are often the heart of the community, and Scottish Gas is using its work with the Scottish Rugby Union to connect with local people and educate them on net zero.

It has signed a five-year partnership deal with the Scottish Rugby Union which will see it work with over 100 rugby clubs in Scotland to support them in reducing their carbon emissions and boost cost savings.

On this, Steve revealed that Scottish Gas From this understanding, it will send an architect to the building who will do a retrofit survey and find out what the current physical condition of the building fabric is. This includes the heating, water, and lighting systems, and the floodlights.

Once this is answered, Scottish Gas then revisits how the rugby club uses the building and works with the club to put a long-term plan together.

From this, Steve said it provides the clubs with financial support to help see the retrofit upgrades become a reality: “The club then can make an application to the community fund that we set up with the Scottish Rugby Union.

We set aside a sum of money every year that clubs can apply for to help with the cost of the retrofit work that they need to do.”

SCOTTISHRUGBY.ORG

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“People came to find out more about net zero, and this is all part of what we will continue to do to be community-activated.”

Continuing, Steve expressed that this work is essential in amplifying the net zero conversation: “Not only will this work help to decarbonise the clubs but it will help all the people associated with the clubs in the community to understand what net zero means because they’re seeing it being done in their rugby club.”

CREATING A FUTURE PIPELINE OF TALENT IS NEEDED TO BOOST NET ZERO INNOVATIONS At the same time as working to decarbonise local rugby clubs, Scottish Gas is working with all of the primary and secondary schools in the surrounding area to the clubs.

Educating people from a young age is needed to ensure that we build a future generation that is informed, motivated, and equipped to contribute to a sustainable and resilient economy.

Steve stated that not only will educating young people help to address the immediate challenges of climate change but also set the foundation for long-term environmental wellbeing: “It is great to make young people aware so that they can make better choices because net zero is a massive opportunity for young people.”

When these young people leave school and enter a career, they will be in the thick of it because renewable technology such as heat pumps, solar panels, and hydrogen will be the norm.

Getting this generation prepared for a net zero future is essential, Steve added: “We are helping teachers and pupils to understand net zero building and teach them the importance of being responsible with energy at the earliest opportunity. We want to encourage them to consider a career in net zero and hopefully, we can create a pipeline of talent.”

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“OUR TRANSITION AS A COMPANY TO NET ZERO WILL HAPPEN ONE CONVERSATION AT A TIME. IT WILL BE FACE-TO-FACE WITH COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE UK.” - Professor Steve Petrie Regional Director Scottish Gas

EVERY PERSON HAS A DIFFERENT JOURNEY TO DECARBONISATION There is no single solution to decarbonisation, and everyone requires a different solution.

Tailoring solutions to the unique circumstances of each person allows for more sustainable, cost-efficient, and context-specific approaches.

Steve agreed that there is not one answer to the net zero jigsaw puzzle: “We speak to homeowners, local authorities, and housing associations to encourage them to make the right decision for them because everyone requires a different solution. What we do is give people the right advice, this might be insulation, heat pumps, electrification, or hydrogen.”

The work that Scottish Gas is doing in terms of educating people on net zero will be key in boosting confidence in renewable technology, reducing carbon emissions, helping people to make informed choices, and driving further innovation.

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PODCAST WRITE UP

Making the Best Use of Our Empty Homes Listen to the podcast episode here

ISSUE 13

To begin with, can you give us an introduction about yourself, your experience in the housing sector, and context behind Lovell?

I’ve been in the industry for about 25 years as a school leaver, I worked my way up across different departments. Now, I’m the Regional Refurbishment Director in the Midlands region.

I’m very much interested in all things housing as part of a partnerships business, but a real sort of passion of mine is retrofit and the provision of new homes. I’ve been in the industry for over 25 years and have seen a lot of changes. But what we see at the moment is a real housing crisis, and that’s multifaceted.

We appreciate that our clients have got a multitude of problems at the moment and challenges around decarbonisation, and we’ve got the cost-of-living crisis. We’ve got skill issues and supply chain capacity issues.

We’ve got solutions that can help local authorities and in particular to try and unblock some of these housing problems.

We appreciate that local authorities don’t have the time, the money or the resources to do this on their own and hopefully trusted partners such as Lovell who’ve been around a long time, can be a real trusted partner.

We’ve got the expertise, the knowledge, and the resources to help unblock these sites.

In this episode, Housing Industry Leaders explores utilising our empty buildings, retrofitting, tackling our current housing crisis, and planning processes with Carl Yale from Lovell.

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How important is it that we ensure that the planning process stays up to date with changing needs of people, to allow for more of these types of conversions of empty spaces into homes?

I really think we’re talking now about making planning policy more up-to-date and to reflect the changing needs of people and particularly tackling conversions and empty spaces. We feel it’s hugely important that planning policy needs to be contemporary and needs to reflect what modern people and particularly younger people know.

Making the best use of existing empty buildings as well as retrofitting existing stock and building new stock is something that can often go unnoticed. What are Lovell doing to address this?

We consider the multiple components of the housing crisis, for example, it could be an affordability issue with young people not being able to afford mortgages and being able to afford deposits that are in private accommodation and therefore paying expensive rents each month, therefore not able to save.

Have we got the stock that young people want to live in now as well? Is it the right stock? So, we see new builds as one option and then we see all the solutions that we’ve been working with local authorities over the past few years providing emergency accommodation and it was quick to turn around rather than having people living in bed and breakfast accommodation.

So, we’ve seen that work, but you look down the high streets and you see empty premises and flats above. We see a big push for brownfield sites, but industrial buildings are being underutilised and we see offices with people working from home now underutilised. Yet, we have got a chronic housing shortage and there are huge targets to achieve.

We see younger people who can’t get on the housing ladder. It is important that policy reflects lifestyles and work changes. We’ve seen a massive work-from-home initiative now and people are not commuting so much. So, we need to make sure that the planning policy and our housing solution reflects what people want.

We see that the planning policy needs to reflect what younger people want.

We feel that they’ll be more interested in public transport, more interested in the environment, and more interested in solar panels, EV charging, and having a safe area for their bike or scooter.

People want more technology. They would probably embrace new technology around heating, electric infrared heating rather than traditional gas heating systems. We think probably the biggest thing that younger people want, and this hasn’t just to be about young people, but certainly a lot of the challenges are around new homes for younger people and getting them on the housing ladder.

We feel that younger people probably want a workspace in their home. Can we create a work area either in their flat or can we create a shared space? Can we have shared work areas, pop-ups, coffee houses, gyms, and launderettes? These sorts of things are probably what young people want and these should be more reflected in planning policy.

There isn’t a golden bullet. There isn’t one simple fix here. We appreciate local authorities are under-resourced as procurement barriers and whichever way you turn, this seems to be a challenge somewhere. We feel that we are part of helping unlock these schemes.

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ISSUE 13

PUBLIC SECTOR ROUND UP Over the past month, Housing Industry Leaders have covered an array of stories across the policy, retrofit, technology, and planning sub-sectors. Here are the highlights:

POLICY Firstly, an event at a new development of homes in Ewyas Harold, Herefordshire has marked Stonewater’s 6000th new home.

Customers and community members joined partners involved in the delivery of the homes at Blunden Meadows to celebrate the scheme’s completion.

The completion of the development, which has provided 38 new homes with a mixture of houses, bungalows, and maisonettes, brings Stonewater’s contribution to affordable housing in Herefordshire to over 2700 homes.

Nicholas Harris, Chief Executive of Stonewater, said: “It’s incredibly exciting to have been able to mark the fantastic milestone of providing 6000 much-needed affordable homes across the country. We’re also honoured to be naming this scheme after the Blunden family, in dedication of their committed public service.”

Continuing, he highlights that: “Developments like this make an important contribution to meeting the housing needs of the local community, at a time when affordable housing couldn’t be more important.

“The Blunden Meadows site is a fantastic showcase for the amazing work that has been done not only here but on previous Stonewater development sites, working with partners to provide new homes alongside public art, sustainable features, and community initiatives.”

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TECHNOLOGY In technology news, a programme has been delivered in Watford to upgrade some of the worst-performing homes in the area by installing external wall insulation.

The programme saw Watford Borough Council work in partnership with Watford Community Housing, Three Rivers District Council, and Thrive Homes.

As part of the first phase of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF), 57 of Watford Community Housing’s properties have benefitted from improved insulation, helping tenants feel warmer in their homes and reducing the amount of energy needed to keep homes comfortable.

In total, as a result of the insulation installed, 139 homes combined were improved to an EPC C rating, which has reduced the carbon emissions from these properties by approximately 173.4 tonnes per year – equivalent to an average of 1.25 tonnes of carbon saved per home every year.

Cllr Ian Stotesbury, Portfolio Holder of Sustainability and Transport, explained that the programme will help support the local community: “As a partner in this project, Watford Borough Council is delighted to have collaborated with Three Rivers District Council, Watford Community Housing and Thrive Homes to deliver impactful energy-saving improvements to a substantial number of local residences.”

Continuing, the Cllr highlighted that it could bring several benefits to the area: “These upgrades have not only contributed significantly to reducing carbon emissions, supporting the district’s journey towards net zero, but they will also help residents heat their homes efficiently and help save bills and prevent other issues like damp and mould.”

HIL

PLANNING RETROFIT In retrofit news, Surrey County Council has been awarded £745,000 of funding through the Local Energy Advice Demonstrator (LEAD) project, to trial new and innovative approaches to tackle residential energy emissions, help residents save money, conserve energy, and make homes more energy-efficient.

The LEAD project is funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and is one of the UK’s largest energy-based collaborations between a local authority and community groups. The project will run until March 2025 and consist of in-person energy advice and a One Stop Shop.

In-person energy advice will support around 3,000 residents by using thermal imaging surveys, providing basic remedial measures for problems such as draughts and heat loss, and signposting to support to help reduce their energy use and bills.

Community groups will provide energy surveys to eligible residents which includes those who live in houses with EPC ratings of D or worse, do not have gas central heating, or may have obstacles to improve the energy efficiency of their homes.

The One Stop Shop is an online platform that will help residents create an energy efficiency and retrofit plan for their home, based on building type, budget, and potential grants and reductions in the cost of technology.

This will be delivered by the Surrey Climate Commission.

Marisa Heath, Surrey County Council Cabinet Member for Environment explained that collaboration will be needed to successfully roll-out a net zero strategy: “This is a fantastic opportunity to build collaboration between the local authority and Surrey’s community groups, working together to upgrade housing stock and reduce residential emissions.

“The project is a great example of how implementing a net zero strategy can be hugely beneficial to residents, and actually help them to save money, make their homes healthier and more modern, and simultaneously tackle climate change.”

Finally, Westminster City Council has announced that residents will soon be moving into the new 300 Harrow Road development, which focuses on boosting affordable housing.

It is the first major development completed under Westminster City Council’s Fairer Westminster strategy, which sets out the local authority’s commitment to increase the number and quality of affordable housing available.

Half of the 112 homes were previously earmarked for market sale, but last year the council changed the scheme to a mix of council homes for social rent and affordable intermediate rent.

All the one-bedroom homes, including the studios, are set at intermediate rent and the homes with at least two bedrooms are council homes for social rent, helping to meet the need for family-sized homes in Westminster.

Technology will be implemented, with residents being able to benefit from the use of air source heat pumps, solar panels, rainwater collection and living roofs, resulting in lower energy bills and a reduction in carbon emissions.

The air source heat pumps, which provide heating and cooling to tenants, are 300 per cent more efficient than standard gas boilers.

In addition to the new homes, there are wider benefits for the community including a new enterprise space, community centre and an early year’s childcare facility.

Cllr Matt Noble, Cabinet Member for Climate Action, Regeneration and Renters at Westminster City Council explained that the development will be critical in creating the thriving communities of the future.

He said: “The completion of 300 Harrow Road is a momentous step in creating truly affordable, energy-efficient, family-sized homes which are vital for our residents in Westminster. Previously only 17 homes here were going to be council homes for social rent, however we increased this to 77 new council homes for social rent and 35 for intermediate rent.”

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Housing Industry Leaders Cymru 2024 will bring together the Welsh Government, local authorities, housing associations, the wider stakeholder community and the supply chain to discuss their vision for the future and how the sector will support the needs of its citizens.

The event will provide a platform for current policies, plans, priorities and projects to be discussed in an open forum, discussing the challenges faced and the opportunities available in a thought provoking way.

11 July 2024 Mercure Holland House Hotel, Cardiff

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Common Challenges, Shared Solutions: A Unified Approach Page 16

Also in this issue: Realising Scotland’s Housing Objectives Through Planning and Pace

Issue 10 October 2023

Issue 09 September 2023

How £100 Million Will Deliver 10,000 Sustainable Homes in Wales

How Scotland’s Passivhaus Policy is Building Homes of the Future

Page 16

Page 16

Also in this issue:

Openreach: Amplifying Connectivity with Full-Fibre

How the Crown Estate Will Trial Zero Carbon Homes Your TSM Standard Questions Answered

Also in this issue: Social Housing Act Demands Higher Standards Devolution and Decarbonisation: Accelerating England’s Net Zero Goals.

Photography: Alsecco / Elizabeth Savage Architects and Passivhaus Designers: Gale & Snowden Architects Ltd

ISSUES

Issue 11 November 2023

ENHANCE YOUR KNOWLEDGE IN KEY TECHNICAL AREAS SURROUNDING THE HOUSING SECTOR IN THE UK.

Housing Industry Link North West is a pioneering housing event designed to bring together industry professionals, decision-makers, and stakeholders in the housing sector to discuss and find innovative solutions towards achieving net zero in the North West region.

This event welcomes companies and individuals with cutting-edge products and ideas to showcase how their innovations can contribute to the region’s journey towards carbon neutrality.

06 February 2024 The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester 30