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Aster appoints Wates for £20m social housing retrofitting scheme
Cristina Lago Deputy Editor
Aster’s retrofitting measures will include solar panels (Image: Mr Stuart Pearcey via Dreamstime.com)
Housing association Aster has appointed WPS, the property services arm of Wates, to deliver a £20m scheme to decarbonise around 750 of its homes in the south of England and London.
The three-year programme of works is a step towards making all of Aster’s residential properties EPC C or above by 2030. Just 15% of the housing association’s homes are rated below EPC C, Aster said.
The retrofitting measures will include cavity wall and loft insulation, ventilation upgrades, upgrading windows and doors, and renewable energy sources such as air source heat pumps and solar panels.
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This is the first time Aster is working with an external contractor at this scale to deliver retrofit works.
Gary Bellenger, Aster Group’s director of home strategy and sustainability, said: “This new partnership with WPS marks an important step in how we deliver major energy efficiency programmes. This work is about more than meeting targets – it’s about investing in our homes to improve the lives of our customers.
"[Government] funds like the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund are also key to ensuring housing associations are able to make lasting energy efficiency improvements to homes across the UK.
“But, if we really want to make a difference, we’ll need the government, private sector and housing associations to work together to deliver the scale of change that is needed.”
David Morgan, executive managing director of WPS, said: “Demand is growing for homes that deliver better energy performance, have a lower impact on the environment and help to reduce energy bills. These improvements will lower emissions to deliver tangible benefits for residents in terms of warmth and comfort and support the wider energy transition.”
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