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The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
(DESNZ) has now released a competition for around £1.25bn
grant funding through the rebranded Warm Homes: Social Housing
Fund: Wave 3 (WH:SHF Wave 3). The delivery period for works
commences on signing of legal documentation (expected April 2025),
running through to 30th September 2028, with grant funding to be
spent by 31st March 2028.

This decision is to agree to the inclusion of CBC in
the consortium bid to be submitted by Stroud District Council (SDC)
for grant funding under WH:SH Wave 3. If the bid submission is
successful and grant funding is offered by DESNZ (outcome expected
early 2025) then the decision to accept the funding, or not, will
be taken by Cabinet.

The bid application alternatives which were
considered are described in the Alternative options
section below. This decision is to include, in the SDC consortium
bid, the approach described in “Option 1: Full
bid”.

It should be noted that CBC’s first priority
is compliance and safety and that works in this regard will always
be prioritised hence should funding be offered the programme of
works will be reviewed to consider and mitigate any risks, this is
especially pertinent as more data becomes available through the
condition surveys.

The anticipated maximum grant level is estimated to be in the
region of £4-5million with CBC match funding in the region of
£3.5-4million through the Housing Revenue Account (HRA). The
HRA has funds allocated (see the Financial Approval section below)
towards decarbonisation of the housing stock, so will be able to
meet this match funding requirement. This will fund improvements to
approx. 600 homes. Funding is allocated for both capital and
A&A (admin and auxiliary) costs.

The programme of works will seek to raise the energy
performance of approx. 540 of CBC homes from below band C, up to
that level, where feasible within the grant cost cap. Additionally
60 homes (on-gas grid) will be supplied with new LC (low carbon)
heating, supporting these homes in the move to net-zero.

The works will target ‘fabric first’ but
will also include some other measures:

·        
Upgrading loft insulation to 400mm

·        
Installation of wall insulation mainly external wall
insulation (EWI), cavity wall insulation (CWI) and some internal
wall insulation (IWI)

·        
Other minor fabric improvements such as sloping
ceiling and room-in-roof insulation, and measures which improve
energy ratings within the modelling tool for EPCs (Energy
Performance Certificates)

·        
Installation of low carbon heating, such as heat
pumps

·        
Solar PV

·        
Mechanical ventilation improvements

·        
Facilitating works

All work undertaken must be compliant with the
British Standards Institution’s framework of technical
standards for retrofit (as detailed in PAS 2035:2019 Retrofitting Dwellings for Improved Energy Efficiency -
Specification and Guidance). Adherence to the PAS 2035 standard
may necessitate other measures such as improved ventilation systems
as well as additional testing (air tightness testing) and
monitoring (internal air quality).

The bid window for WH:SHF closes at midday on 25th November with
information required by Stroud District Council by 20th November,
due to these timescales and the extensive work involved in
modelling the housing stock against the bid criteria, preparation
and submission of the bid it is possible that the final bid numbers
and values could vary slightly from the stated amounts, and for
this reason a range of likely values is given at this time.