High Peak Borough Council (HPBC) were awarded funding to deliver retrofit works to their social housing properties. The aim was to retrofit 40 occupied social housing properties to elevate the homes' Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating to at least a C, reduce carbon emissions and lower energy bills for tenants.
HPBC appointed Seddon as its decarbonisation turnkey delivery partner through the Pagabo Decarbonisation Solutions Framework, including the design and installation of solar PV and battery storage. Other energy efficiency measures included Air source heat pumps (ASHP) and loft insulation. Each retrofit measure was designed to deliver measurable benefits in energy savings, lower carbon emissions, and improved home comfort for tenants. Mechanical and electrical works were carried out in-house through Seddon Engineering Services business.
Successes
As part of the Turnkey process, Seddon conducted individual retrofit Assessments and surveys for each home to determine baseline conditions, and subsequently acted as the Retrofit Coordinator to create a suitable medium term improvement plan and option evaluation following the PAS2035 process. Seddon, with partners Michael Dyson Associates, fulfilled the Retrofit Coordinator during works including managing lodgements with TrustMark. Partnering with Michael Dyson Associates, we completed a robust design compliant with PAS2035 processes and undertook Pre-Installation Building Inspections during our retrofit assessment stages to ensure that all retrofit designs met performance criteria set by HPBC, providing cost certainty and avoiding design reworks in response. Seddon also liaised with local authorities and other relevant bodies, including Distribution Network Operators (DNOs), to ensure all regulatory requirements were before starting works.
Our decarbonisation team and partners, Michael Dyson Associates, collaborated from inception to develop a structured programme with HPBC, to ensure works could be completed to the strict funding deadlines. Our resident engagement processes and dedicated resource allowed us to sign all 40 residents up to the project and complete all retrofit assessments and surveys within three-weeks of instruction. Our Retrofit Coordinator, in partnership with Michael Dyson Associates developed three key archetypes to help us streamline our design processes to hit HPBC deadlines. The success of this retrofit project has set a strong foundation for future phases of work. Regular team meetings with key partners and stakeholders, including Michael Dyson Associates, ensured that issues were promptly addressed, and project milestones were achieved on time.
Difficulties
One of the key learnings from this project was the effectiveness of pre-fabricating PV systems prior to installation. This approach not only reduced on-site installation time, but also minimised disruption for residents. Moving forward, Seddon aims to replicate this method in future projects to improve efficiency further. A critical aspect of the project was effective tenant communication. We worked directly with HPBC neighbourhoods’ team to allocate a dedicated and trained Retrofit Advisor, Lyndsay Burton, to help HPBC to sign up residents for the project and provide free energy saving advice direct to residents (e.g. adjusting boiler flow temperatures). Lyndsay created bespoke and focused communication paths for each resident, particularly those vulnerable, to ensure we could complete the requirements assessment and surveys prior to works commencing.
We undertook a community engagement day to launch the project which increased resident sign up and buy-in to the project.
“High Peak Borough Council has been impressed with the professionalism of the team at Seddon Construction Limited on our retrofit project at New Mills and Tintwistle. Excellent contract management and tenant engagement throughout the project and a great team to work with from conception, assessment and design to start on site.”
Lisa-Marie Olsen
Assets Principal Housing Officer
High Peak Borough Council