How we are improving your homes
In the last financial year, Great Places spent around £18million on improving our customers’ homes and building safety.
Alongside routine investments in our 25,000 homes, our team has worked hard on key projects to make improvements to the homes of many of our customers, including work at Clifford Court in Stockport, Windmill House in Blackpool, and Greyfriars in Sheffield. We also undertook a major refurbishment of our NHS Key Worker accommodation at the Royal Oldham Hospital.
In addition to these projects, we also spent the following amounts on your homes:
- £2.5 million on fitting new kitchens
- £2.3 million on new bathrooms
- £1.2 million replacing external doors
- £450,000 on external area and roof improvements
- £1.1 million replacing windows in 321 homes
- £2.2 million updating heating systems
- £1.2 million painting and fencing
Building and fire safety remain key concerns, with £2.2 million allocated over the past year for safety enhancements, including replacement flat entrance doors and smoke and fire detection systems.
Our decarbonisation retrofit program continues to progress as we work toward becoming a net-zero business by 2038.
What is retrofitting?
Retrofit refers to any improvement work on an existing building to improve its energy efficiency, making them easier to heat, able to retain that heat for longer, and replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy.’ We’ve made strides in improving energy performance ratings, with only 3,199 homes below the EPC C target. Securing £1.4 million in funding from Wave 2 of the Government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund will also support projects to achieve a C rating in 396 homes.
We’ve also made substantial progress in optimising heat networks, starting with Richmond Park Heat Network in Sheffield. A specialist consultancy, Fairheat, has developed an implementation plan to enhance fuel efficiency, reduce emissions, and lower costs. These improvements, costing over £3 million, will be supported by funding we’ve secured from the Department of Energy Security & Net Zero. Similar optimisation studies are planned for Elk View Court, Tulloch Court in Blackpool, and Hutton Lodge in Withington, thanks to government funding.
Our team has worked hard to tackle sector-wide challenges effectively. Looking ahead to 2023-4, retrofitting, fire safety, and building safety will remain key priorities as we embark on our investment programme.
