To receive a presentation on how the District Council supports greener housing in its housing activities.
Minutes:
The Panel received a presentation on Greener Housing.
It was noted that there was a commitment by Government to be carbon neutral by 2050. Housing stock in the UK was reported to be the least energy efficient in Europe. The standards and requirements were outlined to the Panel regarding energy efficiency, environmental sustainability, lifetime homes, etc.
Stocklands in Calmore was a new build NFDC scheme which had aimed to reduce CO2 emissions. The scheme had committed to be energy efficient with low maintenance costs and was environmentally friendly, etc. The Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) for the scheme was presented to the Panel.
A range of various improvements to existing properties to make them more energy efficient was presented. It was noted that the SAP rating for NFDC stock was 70.65 in December 2019. It was the intention to improve this further by carrying out energy efficiency working which would be implemented as part of a proposed NFDC Standard over and above the expected decent homes standards. To put this into context, across England and Wales, the average SAP rating was 60 (Band D). Council owned properties were therefore performing better than the national average. It was suggested that one of the slides included in the presentation, “Change & Save your energy behaviour” be included in the tenant packs which identified ways to reduce energy usage.
The District Council had installed cavity wall and loft insulation into 161 properties and four properties had had air source heat pumps installed in 2019. It was also noted that four schemes had solar PV panels and previous insulation measures had grant funding receipts in the region of £189,000. Members asked whether Council tenants who had solar panels on their property could be contacted to see whether they would share their electricity bills with the Council. This would be on a purely voluntary basis. Members wanted to know whether residents with solar panels had less energy usage.
Private rented properties were required to meet a minimum energy efficiency level set by the Domestic Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES). Since April 2018, all properties let on a new tenancy must have a minimum EPC rating of E. This would apply to all tenancies after April 2020. If a property would require works costing in excess of £3,500 to improve it to an EPC rate of E, the property would need to be registered with the Government for an exemption. A districtwide Private Sector Stock condition survey was in the process of being carried out. The survey would help to inform the Private Sector Housing Strategy which the Task and Finish Group were currently involved with.
It was anticipated that more energy efficient standards would be imposed on new build homes. New homes could have more energy efficient measures included within the design and build which would be more cost effective.
It was proposed that a Task and Finish Group be set up to consider greener housing in more detail, in particular the measures which could be put in place to improve the energy efficiency of the Council’s housing stock and whether the measures were likely to be cost effective. It would also consider the private rented sector and how the Council could establish initiatives regarding energy efficiency, providing education and advice, etc.
RESOLVED:
That a Task and Finish Group looking into Greener Housing be set up and that the Panel would consider the Terms of Reference at the next meeting.