The project was supported by Wave 2.1 of the government’s Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund (previously known as the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund) which aims to enhance energy efficiency across the social housing sector.
Completed upgrades are delivering tangible benefits with tenants already seeing reductions in energy bill costs, and carbon emissions being lowered by more than 166,980 kilograms per year, based on the 178 properties lodged so far.
Plans are now in place to extend this work thanks to Wave 3 funding. Starting next month, Mears will upgrade an additional 650 homes through installing solar panels, insulating cavity walls and lofts, new windows and doors, and carrying out ventilation works over the next three years.
The project forms part of a broader £19 million investment programme in partnership with South Cambridgeshire District Council. Eddie Spicer, Service Manager – Housing Assets, said:
This 237-home decarbonisation project has been a landmark achievement for South Cambridgeshire District Council, demonstrating what can be accomplished through a strong partnership and shared commitment. Working closely with Mears, we were able to secure significant funding through effective bid writing, robust data analysis, and a collaborative approach that strengthened our collective expertise.
Building this programme with Mears has not only delivered excellent outcomes for the community but has also helped us develop a robust and scalable delivery model for future decarbonisation projects. We are proud of what we’ve achieved together and confident that this partnership approach will continue to unlock more opportunities to improve homes and reduce carbon emissions across the district.
Mark Fenton-Smith, Regional Director at Mears, said:
Retrofit improvements are about improving the longevity of homes and making them more energy efficient and cheaper to run for residents.
We are delighted to have made great strides towards achieving this in South Cambridgeshire, with further work now planned in-line with funding from Social Housing Warm Home 3.0 (WH3.0).
Mears specialise in delivering a comprehensive, end-to-end retrofit service to enable clients to realise their net zero goals. We welcome continued progress in this area, particularly as the government commits a further £15 billion by 2030 under its newly announced Warm Homes Plan which aims to reduce energy bills and make homes warmer.
