Nottingham City Homes (NCH) has been accredited as a gold standard provider of sustainable homes, in recognition of its success in reducing its environmental impact across its housing stock and operations.
The accreditation body SHIFT (Sustainable Homes Index For Tomorrow) is run by Sustainable Homes and is the sustainability standard for the housing sector. Gaining a gold accreditation means that NCH is one of the leading organisations for green homes in the UK.
Over the last few years, NCH has rolled out a raft of domestic energy efficiency measures such as new boilers, A-rated windows, solar rooftops and external wall insulation through its Greener HousiNG scheme to tackle the city’s coldest and most energy inefficient homes. This has all greatly improved their environmental performance.
Sustainable Homes also awarded NCH the Sustainable Retrofit Project of the Year (under 50 properties) award at its annual awards ceremony, which recognises the very best sustainability projects and achievements in the UK. The award was for their Energiesprong pilot to create ultra-low energy homes.
NCH, in partnership with Nottingham City Council, is the first housing organisation in the country to adopt the groundbreaking Energiesprong approach to tackle climate change and fuel poverty challenges arising from older housing stock. The project has radically improved the energy efficiency of 10 homes in Sneinton. It upgraded the homes with new outside walls and windows, a solar roof, and a state of the art heating system; making the homes warmer, healthier and much more affordable to heat for residents.
The construction partners for Energiesprong in Sneinton were Melius Homes, and the project has been supported and part financed by the REMOURBAN project that is developing a pioneering model to show how sustainability can be integrated into the regeneration of towns and cities across the UK. Additional funding has also been provided by the E=0 project, part of the European Union’s Interreg NWE programme.
Expertise from the Horizon 2020 Transition Zero project also supported this pilot. Nottingham City Council and Nottingham City Homes are currently seeking funding for a rollout of this scheme to 100+ homes in the city.
Councillor Sally Longford, the City Council’s Portfolio Holder for Energy and Environment, said: “It’s a great achievement to have gained both the gold standard and to have won this award. Its testament to the innovation and commitment that Nottingham City Homes has shown to ensure its homes are ready for the zero carbon standards required across the UK by 2050.
“Many of our residents live in fuel poverty so creating more energy-efficient homes to reduce people’s energy bills is a high priority for us. We’re very excited that Nottingham is leading the way to tackle both fuel poverty and climate change and is pioneering new approaches.”
Nick Murphy, Chief Executive of Nottingham City Homes, commented: “We’re extremely proud to have achieved the gold standard for providing sustainable homes. As a large housing provider, we are very aware of our environmental impact and we have worked hard to minimise it. As well as meeting our environmental responsibilities, sustainability means reduced operational costs for us and cheaper bills and warmer homes for our tenants.
“Our Energisprong pilot in Sneinton has transformed these draughty and inefficient homes into some of the most sustainable homes in the country. We intend to roll Energiesprong out to other homes across the city in the coming months and years to ensure that more of our residents can benefit from warmer homes.”
David Adams, Technical Director of Melius Homes, said: “We wholeheartedly congratulate Nottingham City Homes on their success, to receive a gold SHIFT accreditation is something quite special. Nottingham City Homes showed great leadership by piloting the UK first Energiesprong scheme and we are really proud that this collaborative project has won this award. We’re looking forward to working with the NCH on future schemes to develop this model further.”
Ron Van-Erck, Energiesprong’s Head of International Market Development, said: “An Energiesprong retrofit is about converting existing houses into warm, desirable and affordable places to live in, year round. It’s a collaborative process that involves three agents of change: contractors, housing providers and residents. The gold award recognises that Nottingham City Homes are leading from the front by making their own housing stock sustainable for the long term. Together with Melius Homes, they are true pioneers, heading a UK movement to make homes fit for 2050. It’s a great achievement!”
