North Yorkshire resident praises warmer home upgrade
How the Home Upgrade Grant is transforming homes for residents in North Yorkshire
David Fielding has lived in the quiet North Yorkshire village of Kirkby Fleetham for more than two decades, but he has never experienced a winter quite like this one.
After 23 years heating his home with oil during the colder months, he’s now a proud advocate for cleaner energy and low-emission heating thanks to upgrades funded through the government’s Home Upgrade Grant.
Our Salix teams were on site to speak with David alongside North Yorkshire Council and sustainability experts from the council’s building design consultancy Align Property Partners, to learn why work like this is so important and how it benefits people like David.
Councillor Simon Myers, the authority’s executive member for housing, also joined us on the day. He said: “Some of our most vulnerable residents live in the worst insulated and the most expensive to heat properties.
“Those with the smallest incomes pay a ridiculous proportion of their income on heating so it’s marvellous to be able to address those issues.”
Those with the smallest incomes pay a ridiculous proportion of their income on heating so it’s marvellous to be able to address those issues.
This winter, David’s home is no longer heated with high-emission fossil fuels but with a zero direct emission air source heat pump.
He’s also had solar installed on his roof to generate clean, green energy for his home and his loft insulation was topped up.
When asked if he feels any difference in the warmth of his home with the new heating, David said: “It’s more evenly distributed. Instead of with oil or gas where the temperatures fluctuate considerably and you switch it on, it gets red hot, goes off, it goes cold quicker, the house stays at a more ambient temperature throughout. And that is the bonus. That's the good effect.”
Watch our short video below to hear more from David or read on below as we share further details about the project and scheme delivery across the county.
Upgrades at David’s home were made possible via Phase 2 of the Home Upgrade Grant which is funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. Our Salix teams act as delivery agent for the scheme, working closely with our delivery partner consortium, led by PwC.
Funding is delivered via the local authority which, in David’s case, is North Yorkshire Council and its building design consultancy Align. It is a wholly-council-owned, multi-disciplinary company that has an award-winning team of architects, engineers, quantity surveyors, project managers and sustainability experts.
With a wide range of experience, expertise and skills, Align is supporting the council to deliver its retrofit ambitions. This includes delivery through the Home Upgrade Grant alongside additional government-funded, co-funded and council-funded projects.
The council supports around 620,000 residents in England’s largest county by geographic size.
Through Phase 2 of the Home Upgrade Grant alone, the council is aiming to upgrade a total of 329 homes. Eligible properties need to meet a range of criteria including income thresholds, being off the gas grid and having an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating between D and G.
For people like David, the opportunity to get involved with the scheme has been transformational.
When asked what his advice to others considering similar upgrades, he said: “Just do it because it’s an investment. I'm optimistic about the whole thing. And I would tell anybody the same, anybody that's in the neighbourhood or anywhere, just research the whole thing. It's proven. They've been doing it on the continent for years and years and years. It can't be that bad.
“And of course it's the way forward. And I'm getting rid of all the oil, all the dirty stuff. There's no emissions. It's clean. And I think as an addition to all that, it probably increases the value of the house as a secondary reason. Wonderful.”
And of course it's the way forward. And I'm getting rid of all the oil, all the dirty stuff. There's no emissions. It's clean. And I think as an addition to all that, it probably increases the value of the house as a secondary reason. Wonderful.
Looking ahead, the council plans to further accelerate its retrofit programme to benefit more residents with warmer homes and reduced risk of fuel poverty.
Alongside delivery through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Wave 2.2, which our Salix teams are also involved with, the council has further plans for hundreds more social homes via Wave 3 of the Social Housing Fund.
Lauren Smith, our project support officer who works with North Yorkshire Council and Align on the delivery of Home Upgrade Grant works, said: “North Yorkshire Council and Align have ambitions to scale up their retrofit work dramatically in the immediate future.
“It is clear they have learnt a lot from previous scheme delivery and are now well placed to press ahead with a programme of work that will have positive outcomes for even more residents in the area.
“It has been a pleasure to support the council with its work through the Home Upgrade Grant and I look forward to seeing more about not only what it can achieve through this scheme, but through future projects as well.”
It is clear they have learnt a lot from previous scheme delivery and are now well placed to press ahead with a programme of work that will have positive outcomes for even more residents in the area.
About the Home Upgrade Grant:
- the Home Upgrade Grant aims to provide energy efficiency upgrades and low carbon heating via local authority funding, to households in England that are low income, off the gas grid or have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) between D and G
- funding is exclusively reserved for off-gas grid homes.
- you can read more about the scheme via our website.
