Plan to green-up council homes

Councillors at last night’s meeting of the Housing Overview and Scrutiny committee heard an update on how Wandsworth Council’s housing department is helping the council meet its pledge to become carbon neutral by 2030.  

Wandsworth has 51 communal heating systems, serving 3,529 homes. With a large amount of new council homes in the pipeline, it’s forecast that by 2026/27 this will rise to 96 blocks serving 5,006 homes.

Proposals discussed by councillors included developing a long-term retrofit plan. All council properties will be surveyed to check what condition they are in and what needs to be done to meet the  targets set out in the Wandsworth Environment and Sustainability Strategy (WESS).

New homes built as part of the ‘Housing for All’ programme and the council’s two major regeneration schemes on the Winstanley and York Road and Alton Estates will be fitted with communal heating systems which, where possible, will not be powered by gas.

When gas-powered communal heating systems in existing stock are due for renewal, low carbon options will be installed whenever possible. Individual meters will also be fitted to make sure the system is operating efficiently and that residents are being charged a fair amount, and the best new technology will be consistently used to improve energy efficiency across all new and existing stock

Two new members of staff will be employed to focus exclusively on energy management and sustainability on housing estates. They will set and review tariffs, work with individual tenants to help them use new technology and offer help if tenants are starting to struggle with fuel bills.

The new proposals are in addition to existing work to improve energy-efficiency in council housing stock. This includes a pilot scheme to expand the existing Wandsworth and Richmond Assessment Point (WRAP) service to some council tenants.

WRAP makes home visits to advise on energy-efficiency, proving average annual savings to residents of £275. The council paid for an additional 100 visits to council tenants living on the Surrey Lane and Alton estates. On average households taking part in the pilot had five energy-efficiency measures installed including LED bulbs, carbon monoxide detectors and water saving devices.

If you or someone you know would benefit from a visit from WPAP, call 0800 118 23 27, text 07928 394 482 or email enquiries@thinkingworks.co.uk

Cabinet member for housing, Cllr Jonathan Cook, said: “All council departments are fully committed to helping to reduce carbon emissions as set out in the WESS. One of the elements over which the council has most control is its own housing stock and coming up with a comprehensive, forward-looking plan to make homes as energy efficient as possible is key.”