BEIS-backed programme for social housing retrofit appointment
We have been appointed to run a new phase of the Social Housing Retrofit Accelerator (SHRA), an England-wide advisory programme to support the decarbonisation of social housing across England.
Contractually known as the ‘Technical Assistance Facility Bridge’ (TAF Bridge), the SHRA is a fully-funded support service for social housing providers seeking to access the Government’s £3.8bn Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF).
The funding through the SHDF will enable housing providers to retrofit their homes so they are more energy efficient, cheaper to run, and support a better quality of life for residents. The contract award builds on the success of the existing SHRA which launched in 2021 – delivered by the Greater London Authority with funding from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and our expertise.
The SHRA has supported 66 of the 69 total successful bids within the first wave of the SHDF, which were announced last month. As the technical lead for the forerunner programme, our specialists supported social housing providers to access over £173.4m of funding from a total SHDF allocation of £178.9m.
The new phase of the SHRA will commence from April 2022, offering a programme of one-to-one support, webinars, and further resources. Our appointment, which has a maximum value of £4.95m, will run for an initial term until January 2023 with the potential for extension.
Richard McWilliams, Director, Sustainability said:
“Having successfully helped social housing providers access over £173m through the first wave of the landmark Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, this next phase of the Social Housing Retrofit Accelerator will further increase momentum as the sector looks to achieve net zero.
By providing advice and expertise, we will support the upskilling of the housing sector and development of more, high-quality applications to Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.“Through this kind of structured approach, we have an opportunity to build and scale-up a world-class retrofit industry in the UK – one that not only reduces emissions but also lowers household bills and creates more comfortable homes.”
The SHRA service is delivered by our specialist housing energy and retrofit team, which provides support to housing providers on decarbonisation strategy, planning and delivery. This is part of our rapidly growing sustainability team.