Agenda item

Hammersmith and Fulham’s council housing accounts for 83% of the organisation’s operational emissions and 8% of total borough emissions. It is essential to reduce this by driving energy efficiency, decarbonising people’s homes, and building energy efficient homes. Greening the housing stock is therefore important to address these areas and a ‘Retrofit Strategy’ is currently being developed that will outline the approach to achieve this. The aim of this paper is to explain how the strategy will influence council policy in 4 key areas:

1.    Increasing the energy efficiency of H&F homes

2.    Transitioning to low carbon heat

3.    Supporting fuel poverty

4.     Adapting the council’s stock

Matt Rumble (Strategic Head of Area Regeneration) briefed members that Hammersmith and Fulham’s council housing accounted for 83% of the organisation’s operational emissions and 8% of total borough emissions. Greening the housing stock was therefore important to address the problem of emissions and a ‘Retrofit Strategy’ was currently being developed that would go alongside the stock conditions survey, both of which shall come under the Asset Management Strategy.

Robert Kyle (Sustainability Asset Manager) outlined the background pertaining to greening of the housing stock, and how this would impact council policy, including adopting a Fabric First approach to increase the energy efficiency of H&F homes and transitioning to low carbon heating as part of the retrofit strategy.

Tim Pryce (Climate Emergency - Energy Lead) gave a detailed account of the Clean Heat Masterplan which set out a pathway for lowest cost low carbon heat across the borough, including social housing stock. In many cases, heat networks were likely to be the best low carbon heating solution, and these needed detailed planning over several years, public or private finance and significant changes to Planning policy to be rolled out effectively. 

Esther Harris (Fuel Poverty and Energy Efficiency Lead) informed the meeting about fuel poverty in social housing, and detailed how the H&F Fuel Poverty Strategy would support residents struggling with the cost of heating their homes. The strategy focused on 4 key action areas: increasing reach, addressing inequalities, maximising resources and supporting households. She then highlighted the actions planned for the next year, including increased engagement and an energy efficiency scheme over winter, and outlined how retrofit supported the strategy.

Matt Rumble and Robert Kyle introduced the adaptation of council’s stocks, steps to be taken, and new pilot homes in Lillie Road and Farm Lane.

NOTE: Officers’ presentation is attached as Appendix 2

The Chair thanked officers’ presentations.  While it was pleased to note about the actions to be taken in tackling fuel poverty, she was concerned about the cost of saving carbon through the low carbon heat networks.  Tim Pryce remarked that one of the biggest advantages of heat networks and heat decarbonisation was they were likely to be the cheapest option, not to mention cheaper than using individual heat pumps.  Esther Harris stressed that this needed to be done after the fabric works carried out to reduce demand for heat. 

On the impact of having fabric first works only as raised by the Chair, Robert Kyle said in that case, the Council might not be able to hit the target. While fabric works might help reduce the heat demand of the buildings, the use of gas boilers and cookers in H&F homes would continue using fossil fuels.

Councillor Paul Alexander asked about the procurement systems and vehicles to be deployed to deliver this project.  Robert Kyle responded that he believed the capital delivery team was the most efficient vehicle to address the retrofit need and upgrade the Council stocks at the required scale and pace. Another vehicle was to embedding retrofit works in current capital programmes to upgrade the energy efficiency of individual properties, including void units.

Councillor Alexander further enquired about the types of council properties to be involved in the greening project such as street properties and those at Gap sites and Council estates. He pointed out that one third of Council’s housing stocks involving leaseholders were least energy efficient and some residents might just want selected initiatives and not the others.

John Hayden (Assistant Director, Housing Repairs) remarked that it might be easier to carry out fabric works for Council’s estates than individual street properties.  The capital delivery team had to liaise with and convince leaseholders that the benefits of energy efficient homes outweighed the inconvenience caused by the retrofit works.  On Councillor Alexander’s follow up question about possible legal and financial implications, Richard Shwe (Director of Housing) stressed that the project would be taken forward on a co-production basis.

Councillor Asif Siddique was concerned about the timeline of the project given the Council’s target was to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030.  He asked about the review and consultation, if any, to be carried out during the retrofit works.  Matt Rumble highlighted that the Retrofit Strategy covered a broad area and H&F was in the middle of the timeline. Having analysed the archetype of the Council’s stocks and understood individual retrofit requirements, the Council’s consultant was looking at the best procurement route.  He undertook to brief the Committee again in the new year on other policy implications of this strategy.

ACTION: Matt Rumble

In reply to the Chair’s question about the impact of the £5 million green investment on greening the housing stock projects, Councillor Wesley Harcourt (Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Ecology) remarked that the Green Investment Scheme of £5 million would be launched soon to fund individual projects to be engaged. He highlighted the competitiveness of government funding and commended the hard work of the small team in enabling the project to secure multiple grants.  The Retrofit Strategy was a massive project and the Head of Finance (Environment) was exploring other ways of generating more incomes to fund it. He agreed that decarbonisation should at the same time ease the pressure of the cost of living.  It was also imperative to adapt H&F’s homes to overheating, flooding and drought risks ensuring them subject to lower risk to climate change impacts over a longer term.

Helen Dell (Climate Change Commissioner) echoed that the subject under discussion entailed complex, wide-ranging and overwhelming issues and this dedicated and brilliant team had not only dealt with the problem by fabric first but taken steps to plan strategically and address fuel poverty.  While the project team was facing the imminent 2030 target and big financing challenges, she was confident in the inspiring team and believed that things would work out as planned. 

Councillor Siddique expressed his appreciation to the strenuous efforts made by the team.  He reiterated his concern for a platform where the residents could learn about the progress of the projects and provide feedbacks.  In relation to the retrofit works, Robert Kyle said that since 2019, residents had been engaged on ways to adapt their homes for a changing climate. Forums had been held to gauge the views of leaseholds on their expected outcomes and views such as affordable warm homes as relayed by Councillor Alexander earlier were received. He noted that once the approach was finalised, residents would then be consulted on their preference in taking forward the retrofit strategy. 

Question from the floor

In reply to the question of Marie Thomas, H&F resident about C-standard, Robert Kyle explained that the EPC-C was Energy Performance Certificate – Level C.  It was related to the cost of running the property and linked to energy efficiency as well. The Council aimed to achieve EPC-B across H&F.

Marie Thomas expressed residents’ preference of replacing windows and repairing roofs to installing entry phones.  Robert Kyle noted that they were part of the capital programmes. Richard Shwe highlighted the stock conditions survey which would help identify the areas of need, draw up the Asset Management Strategy and arrange associated works for roofing and window after securing the capital funding. 

RESOLVED

That the Committee noted and commented on the report.