Places for People-led group hopes collaboration will make grant money “go further”
A new housing consortium comprising seven English housing providers has been granted almost £31m to retrofit social homes.
The Thriving Communities Consortium is being led by Places for People (PfP) and also comprises Accent, Eddystone Housing, Thrive Homes, Papworth Trust, Paradigm, and West Kent Housing Association.
The money provided by the department for energy security and net zero as part of the third phase of its ‘Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund’ will be used to install heat pumps, solar panels, and new double-glazing to improve the EPC ratings of properties. This could save residents up to £500 on their annual bills, according to the group.
The consortium said it will introduce a decarbonisation procurement framework to provide organisations with access to the appropriate skills and resources to carry out retrofit projects.
Meanwhile, PfP’s training provider PfP Thrive is offering all consortium members free or discounted training to upskill their employees in green skills. Along with sharing resources from their supply chains, the group believes this initative could save over £2.1m in investment costs and over £250,000 in training, which will be invested back into the programme.
The group also said it will create new jobs and apprenticeship roles as well as investing in local community charities and groups.
Tim Weightman, chief investment officer for PfP, said: “As a consortium, we will make this grant funding go further. We will create new economic opportunities and through leveraging the support of PfP Thrive, will upskill people in construction and green technologies, building a skilled workforce equipped to tackle future environmental challenges.
“Without collaborations such as the Thriving Communities Consortium we will not meet the UK’s net-zero emissions target, nor will we finally improve the overall quality of UK housing to improve the health and well-being of people.
“With robust asset data, clear delivery plans, and experienced supply chain partners, we are confident this project will improve homes, customers’ well-being, and deliver wider social value to the communities we serve.”
The government yesterday announced the successful applicants that would be allocated a share from the £1.3bn Warm Homes funding pot.
Works by Thriving Communities are set to start in March with completion expected by Winter 2028.
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