Liverpool-based housing group Riverside has launched an ambitious £72 million retrofit programme to enhance the energy efficiency of more than 3,000 homes across multiple locations, including Liverpool, Halton, Carlisle, the Langley estate in Middleton, and Enfield in London. The initiative is co-funded by a £36 million grant from the UK Government’s Warm Homes Social Housing Fund (Wave 3), which Riverside is matching with its own investment. The comprehensive three-year project aims to raise the homes’ Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) ratings to Band C, delivering crucial improvements such as cavity and external wall insulation, solar panel installations, roof alterations, new double glazing, and doors. Work is scheduled to begin in early October, with resident open days planned to provide information and foster community engagement.

This latest phase builds on Riverside's earlier retrofit success under the Wave 2.1 programme, which upgraded over 1,000 homes across the same regions with £26 million in funding. WPS, part of The Wates Group and the contractor for the southern regions in the previous programme, has been appointed once again to manage delivery, drawing on its extensive experience in retrofitting social housing. The partnership highlights Riverside’s commitment to sustainability and its role as a Strategic Partner of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. Ian Gregg, Riverside’s Chief Property Officer, emphasised the transformative potential of the programme, stating it will help thousands of households become warmer, more comfortable, and more affordable to live in by reducing energy bills and tackling fuel poverty.

The retrofit programme aligns with broader government ambitions detailed in the Warm Homes Social Housing Fund initiative, which has allocated £1.29 billion to raise the energy efficiency of social housing across England by 2030. The fund prioritises upgrading properties currently below EPC Band C to this standard, aiming to address climate change, improve tenant well-being, reduce carbon emissions, and stimulate local green job creation. Such efforts are crucial in combating fuel poverty, which impacts millions of households nationally, by making homes more energy efficient and affordable to heat.

WPS, with a significant portfolio in social housing retrofit, brings considerable expertise to Riverside’s project. The company has been involved in multiple retrofit schemes funded through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF), including a £4.3 million contract retrofitting nearly 200 homes for The Hyde Group and a recent agreement to upgrade 410 homes for Orbit housing. These projects often incorporate a range of measures from insulation to renewable energy installations like solar photovoltaic panels and air source heat pumps, supporting government targets for all social housing to reach EPC Band C by 2030. WPS’s Executive Managing Director, David Morgan, highlighted the dual benefits of retrofitting, noting that warmer homes that cost less to heat contribute to better health and economic outcomes for residents, while also advancing the journey towards net-zero carbon emissions.

The retrofit programme additionally fosters local employment opportunities and community engagement, key aspects of Riverside’s mission to combine sustainability with social impact. The collaborative approach, including resident engagement days, ensures transparency and tenant involvement, making the initiative as much about improving quality of life as about environmental responsibility. Such extensive retrofit schemes represent a growing trend in the UK social housing sector, where partnerships between housing providers and specialist contractors like WPS are central to meeting both national climate goals and social equity demands.

Overall, the Riverside and WPS initiative exemplifies how substantial government investment, matched by committed housing providers, can generate wide-ranging benefits — from lowering fuel bills and improving living conditions to supporting the green economy and driving national decarbonisation targets. With retrofit works scheduled from late 2024 to 2027, this programme forms a pivotal part of the UK’s strategy to ensure social housing stock is fit for a sustainable future.

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Source: Noah Wire Services