National recognition for Exeter’s council house retrofit programme

Published: 12 October 2023

A retrofit housing programme in Exeter which helps provide warm homes and cut energy bills has been recognised at a national award ceremony.

Exeter City Council’s housing decarbonisation retrofit programme won second place for project of the year at the National Energy Efficiency Awards.

The retrofit programme was also awarded a special commendation in the local authority of the year category.

This isn’t the first time that the Exeter programme has been recognised at national level and the programme team already has a string of awards to their name.

Exeter City Council’s housing retrofit programme, which is being rolled out further across the city, helps improve living conditions and provides affordable warmth for tenants.

Retrofitting includes energy cutting measures including exterior wall insulation, cavity wall insulation, loft insulation, new windows and doors and draught proofing measures, as well as heat pumps and solar panel installation.

Cllr Barbara Denning, Lead Councillor for Council Housing, said: “Again this is great news to see our team at the Council recognised for the brilliant job they are doing to make a difference to the lives of people in Exeter.

“We have a lot of older properties in Exeter that need making more energy efficient. This not only brings benefit to our residents but also cuts our carbon footprint.”

More than 400 Council properties have been retrofitted in Exeter - saving money for tenants on their fuel bills at a time of high energy costs and also cutting carbon emissions.

Earlier in 2023, funding was secured for a further 245 Council houses in Exeter to be fully retrofitted to improve their energy efficiency over the next two years.

The Government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund provided a grant of £1.494m, which the Council’s Housing Revenue Account (HRA) match funded with £1.998m.