The council鈥檚 housing investment team has been given the green light to deliver the 拢4.5m retrofit of the 1960s-built crosswall-construction propertiesin order to reduce their carbon emissions and improve their energy efficiency.
The council team has worked with John Gilbert Architects to develop a specialist package of works to reduce the amount of fuel being burned.
The completed works could enable carbon dioxide emissions to drop by almost 100 tonnes per property over the next 25 years, collectively preventing 7,400 tonnes of carbon dioxide entering the environment, said the council. Each property鈥檚 energy efficiency could rise from Band D to Band B, bringing the houses in line with most new-build properties.
Councillor Marie McGurk, convener of Renfrewshire Council鈥檚 communities, housing and planning board, said: 鈥淭hese houses are very popular with tenants as they have a front and back door, but unfortunately they weren鈥檛 built to meet modern energy efficiency standards.
鈥淲e鈥檙e very excited about this project which will improve the warmth and comfort levels for our tenants and ensure better ventilation all without the need for them to decant from their home, while at the same time tackling fuel poverty and making a critical contribution towards Renfrewshire being carbon neutral by 2030.
鈥淓veryone should have homes to be proud of and this project will not only greatly improve the quality of Renfrewshire鈥檚 housing stock, but has the potential to be scaled up and adapted to fit other types of houses, becoming the blueprint to meet the highest energy-efficiency standards.鈥�
Renfrewshire councillors have approved the project plans and consultation will now get under way with tenants before work is scheduled to start this summer, taking around 18-months to complete.
An energy performance survey will benchmark each home鈥檚 efficiency before the works start. New external wall insulation, roofing, solar panels, windows, external doors and underfloor insulation are all included, with off-site construction enabling the process at each home to be streamlined to take around 4-6 weeks. The completed works will achieve the EnerPHit standard.
Lori McElroy, director of housing and energy (Scotland) at the Building Research Establishment, said: 鈥淲e鈥檙e pleased to help with the planning behind this project, which is taking innovative thinking to the next stage by demonstrating a clear solution to a complex issue. We are committed to supporting organisations to deliver the Scottish Government鈥檚 Energy Efficient Scotland targets and look forward to measuring and monitoring the project to ensure the best possible outcomes.鈥�
Sarah Buchanan, innovation manager, Construction Scotland Innovation Centre, added: 鈥淲e are delighted to be working with Renfrewshire Council and other partners on this innovative project which will bring positive change to the lives of the tenants whilst also creating economic development for Scotland and of course improving carbon emissions. There are an estimated 250,000 crosswall properties across the UK and this pilot project creates an affordable solution for housing stock which can be rolled out at scale.鈥�
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