Issue - decisions

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has now released a competition for around £1.25bn grant funding through the rebranded Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund: Wave 3 (WH:SHF Wave 3). The delivery period for works commences on signing of legal documentation (expected April 2025), running through to 30th September 2028, with grant funding to be spent by 31st March 2028.

This decision is to agree to the inclusion of CBC in the consortium bid to be submitted by Stroud District Council (SDC) for grant funding under WH:SH Wave 3. If the bid submission is successful and grant funding is offered by DESNZ (outcome expected early 2025) then the decision to accept the funding, or not, will be taken by Cabinet.

The bid application alternatives which were considered are described in the Alternative options section below. This decision is to include, in the SDC consortium bid, the approach described in “Option 1: Full bid”.

It should be noted that CBC’s first priority is compliance and safety and that works in this regard will always be prioritised hence should funding be offered the programme of works will be reviewed to consider and mitigate any risks, this is especially pertinent as more data becomes available through the condition surveys.

The anticipated maximum grant level is estimated to be in the region of £4-5million with CBC match funding in the region of £3.5-4million through the Housing Revenue Account (HRA). The HRA has funds allocated (see the Financial Approval section below) towards decarbonisation of the housing stock, so will be able to meet this match funding requirement. This will fund improvements to approx. 600 homes. Funding is allocated for both capital and A&A (admin and auxiliary) costs.

The programme of works will seek to raise the energy performance of approx. 540 of CBC homes from below band C, up to that level, where feasible within the grant cost cap. Additionally 60 homes (on-gas grid) will be supplied with new LC (low carbon) heating, supporting these homes in the move to net-zero.

The works will target ‘fabric first’ but will also include some other measures:

·         Upgrading loft insulation to 400mm

·         Installation of wall insulation mainly external wall insulation (EWI), cavity wall insulation (CWI) and some internal wall insulation (IWI)

·         Other minor fabric improvements such as sloping ceiling and room-in-roof insulation, and measures which improve energy ratings within the modelling tool for EPCs (Energy Performance Certificates)

·         Installation of low carbon heating, such as heat pumps

·         Solar PV

·         Mechanical ventilation improvements

·         Facilitating works

All work undertaken must be compliant with the British Standards Institution’s framework of technical standards for retrofit (as detailed in PAS 2035:2019 Retrofitting Dwellings for Improved Energy Efficiency - Specification and Guidance). Adherence to the PAS 2035 standard may necessitate other measures such as improved ventilation systems as well as additional testing (air tightness testing) and monitoring (internal air quality).

The bid window for WH:SHF closes at midday on 25th November with information required by Stroud District Council by 20th November, due to these timescales and the extensive work involved in modelling the housing stock against the bid criteria, preparation and submission of the bid it is possible that the final bid numbers and values could vary slightly from the stated amounts, and for this reason a range of likely values is given at this time.