Southway Housing Trust has announced it has secured £1.96m of the £37m awarded to Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s consortium bid for decarbonisation funding from the Government.
The money has been awarded as part of the second wave of the Government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, the details of which have been announced today.
The funding will make a significant contribution to the decarbonisation and improvement of many of Southway’s least energy-efficient homes, with 1,112 properties across South Manchester to be upgraded at a total cost of £4.5m.
Homes will be retrofitted with a combination of solar PV panels, energy-efficient heating systems and improved insulation, making homes greener, warmer, and more cost-effective to heat.
Southway’s properties alone make up almost 20% of the 5,400 social homes that comprises Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s consortium bid, with 18 Greater Manchester social landlords sharing the £37m pot.
In the City of Manchester, where Southway operates, it will be retrofitting 32% of the 3,434 homes set to be decarbonised.
The award is also another timely boost for Southway as it continues to strive to achieve zero carbon by 2038, and in December 2022 the social landlord completed the first homes as part of its ERDF Arrowfield Low Carbon Living project. The project is seeing 387 homes retrofitted over the next six months with air source heat pumps and improved insulation, alongside with resident support, on the Arrowfield Estate in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, South Manchester.
Southway’s Chief Executive Karen Mitchell said: “Southway has made reducing carbon one of its highest priorities, so I’m delighted that the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund award has matched our ambitious aims as an organisation.
“I’m particularly pleased with the amount of funding awarded to Southway in relation to our size, because we have punched above our weight in that regard, and it’s another important indicator that we are on the right course.
“A recent survey of Southway residents also revealed that 88% of our tenants want to reduce their impact on climate change, so we feel our priorities are in line with those of our customers — we all want and need to change together.”
Southway’s Strategic Director of Property Matt Roberts commented: “Southway is now in the position to be able to complete retrofit works to almost 25% of our 6,000 homes over the next two years, which is a big step in our zero-carbon journey.
“Finding a route to decarbonising thousands of homes can feel more like using a compass than a map at times, in as much as you try to move in the right direction, working out some of the details as you go.
“But this, and other future funding awards, will enable Southway to access the latest technology and approaches to home energy efficiency. So much credit has to go to Greater Manchester Combined Authority for leading the consortium bid.”
To find out more about Southway Housing Trust’s Zero Carbon by 2038 visit www.southwayhousing.co.uk/energy-low-carbon-living/
Header image: Arial shot of Arrowfield Estate, South Manchester.
