Matrix Housing Partnership – SHDF 2.1

South West, Southern/Central England and the West Midlands

Project Value: £26m

Introduction

This multi-measure scheme was delivered on behalf of Matrix Housing Partnership, a consortium of seven UK social housing providers. Members were spread widely across the South West, Southern/Central England and the West Midlands and together, made a successful collaborative bid that secured £12 million of funding via Wave 2.1 of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF).

The funding supported a decarbonisation scheme worth a total of £26 million; a programme designed to improve the energy efficiency of more than 900 homes. It aims were to improve living conditions and to reduce energy costs for around 2,000 people, and to cut associated CO₂ emissions by an estimated 1,429,000 kg per year.

Delivering multiple decarbonisation measures simultaneously to hundreds of properties and across such a diversity of sites would naturally present challenges in terms of planning, delivery and reporting. Consequently, the consortium members sought a contractor with a proven record of delivering multiple PAS-compliant schemes at scale.

In late summer 2023, Matrix appointed Sustainable Building Services (SBS) to manage the project. The decision was based on SBS’ track record of delivering similar work for two of the consortium’s members: Trident Housing Association, and Trent & Dove Housing. That previous work was funded under the SHDF Demonstrator.

The Project

The Wave 2.1-funded project entailed installing multiple decarbonisation measures, all in accordance with the PAS 2035 standard and following a fabric-first approach. Primary measures included fitting external wall insulation (EWI), new cavity wall insulation, loft insulation and replacement windows and doors. Additional decarbonisation works included the installation of new ventilation systems, air source heat pumps, photovoltaic solar panels and low energy lighting. The aim was for every property to achieve an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of at least Band C.

Results

By applying well-proven principles, including multi-stakeholder engagement from the very earliest stages, the sharing of best practice and development of a shared supply chain, SBS made excellent progress in managing and delivering the scheme. It set up two dedicated regional teams to manage four parallel workstreams, and despite the multiple locations, different measures and varying property archetypes, it completed the work quickly and effectively. Within 6 months of the programme’s start-date, it had begun work on all sites and completed the first phase for four of the seven members and the scheme was completed by November 2025.

Achieved at a time when many clients and contractors struggled to mobilise even single schemes, this multi-site project demonstrates that with proper planning and management, large and challenging programmes can be delivered at scale successfully.

In all areas, multiple measures have been installed according to schedule, in full accordance with PAS standards and relevant funding requirements. The resulting measures are expected to deliver total energy savings of 5,473,000 kwh per year.

Besides delivering valuable improvements to housing stock and enhancing living conditions for hundreds of residents, the scheme has also proven the effectiveness of the consortium approach. For members, it yielded considerable economies of scale, enabling them to access funding more easily, launch projects more quickly and save both time and money on contract administration.

Gary Lawson, Managing Director at Sustainable Building Services, said: “The work that we delivered on behalf of Matrix Housing Partnership is a perfect example of retrofit collaboration at scale and why the consortium model will likely be favoured by social housing providers in the future. The feedback we have received from the consortium members and their tenants across various housing types has been tremendous.”

Matrix Housing Partnership

The consortium members include: GreenSquareAccord, Black Country Housing Group, Citizen Housing Group, Pioneer Housing and Community Group, Rooftop Housing Association, Trent & Dove Housing, and Trident Housing Association.