Anchor has improved the energy performance of 23 homes in Hawkshead Court in Newton Aycliffe, Durham after securing £2.2 million in funding from the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF).

The project follows a successful bid for SHDF funding that Anchor submitted as part of the Greener Futures Partnership, a group of like-minded housing associations who have come together to tackle the long-term decarbonisation challenge.

Liz Davenport, property sustainability director at Anchor, said: “As part of Anchor’s long term sustainability strategy and in line with government targets, we need to ensure all our rented properties reach an ‘Energy Performance Certificate’ of C or above by 2030 whilst also ensuring residents’ homes are comfortable and affordable to live.

“This programme of works plays a key role in delivering on these aims and supporting our longer-term net zero carbon target by reducing carbon emissions.

“We are taking a ‘fabric first’ approach which means making homes more energy efficient by improving the fabric of the building including measures such as windows, wall, and loft insulation, followed by making improvement inside the home with upgrades to heating systems and installing low energy lighting.”

Working with energy services provider, Equans, Anchor completed retrofit assessment surveys to all properties, improvements were designed, and in January 2024, works got underway to improve residents’ homes.

One of the measures that took place was to replace old storage heaters with new Elnur high heat retention storage heaters, which offer residents much more control of their heating without compromising on warmth and affordability.