Cabinet note the bid and intended project for SHDF Wave 2 and ratify the decision to submit the bid taken by the Director (Housing).

Further to minute 28 (21.03.2022), the Cabinet was informed that the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) Wave 1 was released by the Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) on 23 August 2021 and invited Registered Providers of social housing including Private and Local Authority, to apply for funding to be used to improve the energy performance of social housing.

The Council applied for the funding and was notified on 7 February 2022 that it had been successful in its bid of £823,337.11, with Gravesham being only one of two Councils in Kent to secure the funding.

Project delivery timescales were set by BEIS with a completion date of 30 June 2023. As of 19 January 2023, the Council had completed 51% of the project (241 properties), with an annual carbon saving of 500 tCO2 and improved the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)  ratings of all these properties to a rating of C. As well as the positive impact that the works had on the properties, it had also had a very positive impact on the tenants too. 

The SHDF Wave 2.1 scheme was released by the BEIS on the 29 September 2022 and invited Registered Providers of social housing including Private and Local Authorities, to apply for funding to be used to improve the energy performance of their social housing stock. The expected aim of the scheme being to upgrade a significant amount of the social housing stock currently below EPC rating C.

The Wave 2.1 competition will allocate up to £800 million of funding. The successful applicants will be notified in late February / early March 2023 and will have a deadline to deliver the works by September 2025.

Following the Council’s success with the Wave 1 scheme and to build on the positive impact for tenants, a bid for Wave 2.1 was submitted which will see 714 Council owned homes receive improvements through the scheme if successful.

The intended project for Wave 2.1 will be to continue upgrading loft and cavity wall insulation to 714 Council owned homes as similarly delivered in Wave 1 scheme. Completion of these works will also result in all 714 properties moving from EPC D to EPC C which will increase the Council’s properties EPC C and above from 72% to 84% and will result in an estimated annual carbon saving of 2111 tCO2. Based on estimated figures from the Energy Saving Trust, the tenants who will benefit from these insulation measures will also see estimated bill savings of £258,720 a year with increased thermal comfort within their homes.

The cost of the project will be £2,223,244.54 with the Council expected to provide match funding of 50%, equating to £1,111,622.27. Figures on how this will be spread across the 2 financial years had been provided within the report. The figures for the project had been based on the quotation received from the insulation contractor and factored in inflation.

The Council’s contribution had been budgeted within the Energy Efficiency capital budget with a forecasted budget of £1,888,650, for 2023/24 subject to budget approval and will also be budgeted in during the budget setting period for 2024/25.

If the Council was unsuccessful with the Wave 2.1 bid, the intention will be to still use the funds set aside for GBC’s contribution to continue the programme of insulation measures including properties that still require these insulation upgrades but wouldn’t qualify for Government funding due to their current EPC ratings.

The Cabinet acknowledged the success of the Wave 1 scheme and welcomed the Wave 2.1 funding bid. It was requested that, if successful, a progress report be submitted to the Cabinet detailing the specifics of the programme.

Resolved the bid and intended project for the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Wave 2 be noted and the decision to submit the bid taken by the Director (Housing) be ratified.