News - Construction News

Unique consortium model proving key to large-scale social housing retrofit

27 Jun 24

Matrix Housing Partnership is working effectively alongside turnkey solutions provider Sustainable Building Services (UK) Ltd (SBS) to deliver a 905-property social housing retrofit programme that is demonstrating how to achieve economies of scale and best practice.

The seven-member consortium of social housing providers is unique due their geographical spread across the South West, Midlands and Southern England, managed by multiple SBS regional teams, with parallel workstreams in each region. Once complete, more than 1,750 people will benefit from the works and 1.6 million kilogrammes of C02 emissions will be saved each year.

After being awarded more than £12M through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) Wave 2.1 and appointing SBS as the sole delivery partner to deliver the full £26M PAS2035-standard project, the Matrix Housing Partnership is on track to complete its planned programme by Spring 2025.

Gary Lawson, managing director at SBS, said: “The work that we are delivering on behalf of Matrix Housing Partnership is a perfect example of retrofit collaboration and why the consortium model will be favoured by social housing providers in the future. There are substantial benefits for everyone involved when scaling projects with this method. Cost savings, strong partnerships, and sharing vital supply chains all converge to create efficient and productive processes that all project partners can reap the rewards from.

“Social housing providers are able to more easily access funding, get projects off the ground more quickly and deal with less contract administration. Delivery partners can ensure continuous improvement with shared supply chains, explore new systems and technologies, and create new roles to grow the industry. Partners have been given the confidence to invest and undertake upskilling that will increase resilience and tenants are provided with warmer, more energy efficient homes that have lower bills and a better impact on the environment.

“The feedback we have received so far from the consortium members and their tenants across various housing types has been tremendous. We all acknowledge the importance of the programme being delivered and are conscious that awareness must be raised on the advantages of working at scale.

“During the SHDF Demonstrator we completed schemes for both Trident Housing Association and Trent & Dove Housing, so our existing relationships have also supported us in this scheme. Further learnings will not doubt be gained as we progress with the project and we look forward to sharing them with the housing industry as it continues its retrofit decarbonisation mission.”

Matrix Housing Partnership includes GreenSquareAccord, Black Country Housing Group, Citizen Housing Group, Pioneer Housing and Community Group, Rooftop Housing Association, Trent & Dove Housing and Trident Housing Association. In addition to SBS, Savills and GJK Consultants are supporting the consortium with the project.

The variety of retrofit measures being installed include external wall insulation, cavity wall insulation, internal wall insulation, new windows and doors, loft insulation, ventilation upgrades, air source heat pumps, battery storage, low energy lighting and solar PV. The aim is for each property to have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of at least C after the completion of works.

Jason Holder, director of property at GSA, said: “We are proud to be leading the Matrix Housing Partnership’s decarbonisation project, which has already seen hundreds of homes benefit from energy efficiency upgrades. We are sharing best practice and maximising economies of scale through the consortium model. From the quality of measures installed through to the resident liaison approach, we know we’re receiving a good service and so too are our consortium partners.”

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