We are thrilled to have completed Wave One of our Decarbonisation Scheme, aimed at improving the energy efficiency of tenants' homes.
Saffron has become one of only 12% of housing developers in the UK to have reached this milestone. The work forms part of a government initiative offering funding to developers for retrofitting their homes with carbon neutral upgrades.
Richard Egle, Sustainability Project Lead, and Maria Deluca, Tenant Liaison Officer, who spearheaded the retrofit rollout on 126 homes, led by Paul Wilson, Planned Improvements Manager and Jason MacCormick, Director of Sustainability, reflected on their team’s huge successes.
Maria Deluca said: “It has been a pleasure in my first few months of working at Saffron, that I have been involved with a worthwhile project.
“With my team, we have made tenants’ homes warmer and more energy efficient with the install of the air source heating, new windows and doors and insulation. I have had a lot of positive feedback.”
Richard Egle said: “We at Saffron should be very proud of what our SHDF project team have accomplished on the Wave 1 retrofit works and making 126 Saffron homes more energy efficient.
“We’ve worked hard to become one of the only housing associations to have successfully completed our Wave 1 SHDF project, after encountering many challenges along the way.
“These would include the energy crisis/material shortages following Covid, changes from the Government – formerly BEIS, now DESNZ. We have used these situations as learning experiences, which has put the whole team in a good position to deliver Wave 2 of the decarbonisation scheme going forwards.
“We are proud to have made such an improvement in the homes of tenants who volunteered for the scheme and look forward to retrofitting many more homes in the future.”
The Sustainability Team were highly commended to DESNZ, the government Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, which manages the scheme, and have been recommended as a case study for other developers.
Saffron tenant Nicola Webster‘s home was retrofitted with everything from new flooring and radiators, to windows, air source heating and a new kitchen.
She said: “I was thrilled to have been given the opportunity to have this house through Saffron.”
“That’s something that appeals to me and my values – living in a sustainable environment. I was delighted when I saw what the team had done. It surpassed the expectations I had when I came to view the bungalow. It’s a topic I’m interested in, anything that can reduce carbon consumption is really important, and obviously the bills!”
Saffron tenant Robert Ingram also had his house retrofitted with improvements including new windows and an air source heat pump. He said: “I think the air pump thing is a brilliant idea – I’m happy with it.”
He added: “All in all, with Saffron, I must say I’m pleased with them.”
The team are now working on Wave Two of project, which will see hundreds more homes retrofitted to reach an energy efficiency rating of at least C.
If you would like to find out whether your house qualifies for the scheme, get in touch with Maria Deluca at MDeluca@saffronhousing.co.uk.