Stonewater granted funding for retrofit works in Swindon

Leading housing provider Stonewater, has been granted provisional allocation of over £18 million in Government funding as part of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) Wave 3 scheme, with some of the work scheduled to take place in Swindon.

The Stonewater homes selected for energy efficiency improvements as part of the project will benefit from measures such as increased insulation, double glazing, solar panels and heat pumps.

Sustainability measures that are included in the retrofit programme have the potential to save customers money on their energy bills, while also ensuring the home is warmer and more efficient.

Customers whose homes are selected for retrofit works will receive support throughout the programme, including roadshow events that will show customers the new features that will be installed in their home. Representatives from Stonewater and contracting partners will also be available throughout the process to inform and update customers on the works.

Adam Masters, Assistant Director Environment and Sustainability at Stonewater, said: “We’re delighted to have been granted this funding to improve the energy efficiency of our homes. This work will be vital in helping customers to reduce their energy bills and ensure they have a warm place to live.

“We already have a strong retrofit programme in place, which has seen improvements to many of our existing homes. As part of our ongoing SHDF Wave 2.1 project, we have already installed 200 air source heat pumps and over 115 solar panel systems, plus many other measures focused on making homes more comfortable and affordable.

“Ensuring our existing homes are safe, warm and secure for the customers we already provide for, is vital and a key strategic priority for us, alongside our support of the government’s ambitious housebuilding targets. This funding will enable us to scale up retrofit and go even further to making homes sustainable for many years to come.”

Stonewater was selected as one of 17 Strategic Partners in the government’s Warm Homes project and will retrofit over 1,600 homes across England. The funding forms part of the latest £1.8 billion in government support, helping to provide energy efficiency upgrades to 170,000 homes across the country.

SHDF Wave 3 funding has been offered to 17 strategic partnership projects and 127 challenge fund projects, with Stonewater’s provisional allocation listed in the top 10 individual grant recipients.

When commenting on the government’s £1.8 billion announcement, Minister for Energy Consumers, Miatta Fahnbulleh, said: “Living in a warm, comfortable home should not be a luxury. It is a right that has been out of reach for too many people for too long. We are powering on with our Warm Homes Plan, upgrading cold and draughty homes so they are warmer, cleaner, and cheaper to live in.”

In 2023, Stonewater was successful in bidding for more than £9 million in funding to make improvements to over 700 homes as part of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ)’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) Wave 2.1.