West Lancashire Borough Council –

SHDF Wave 2.1

Skelmersdale, West Lancashire 

Project Value: £6m

Introduction

Funded by Wave 2.1 of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) this multi-measure refurbishment and decarbonisation retrofit scheme was undertaken by SBS on behalf of West Lancashire Borough Council.

The Council manages properties of varying archetypes, which are spread over a number of different neighbourhoods. This project would seek to raise the energy efficiency of approximately 250 occupied homes, taking them from EPC bands D or E to a minimum of band C.

It would be commissioned directly by the client, with part-funding from SHDF Wave 2.1. Consequently, the work would have to be delivered by a Trustmark registered contractor in accordance with the demands of the PAS standards.

SBS is Trustmark registered and, in addition to having its head office in West Lancashire, it has an excellent record of delivering technically demanding, PAS-compliant schemes at scale. The client therefore regarded us as a sound and logical choice to deliver the works.

The Project

From the outset, we recognised that the scheme would present challenges. First, the wide variety of archetypes would demand different measures and retrofit designs, as would the fact that the condition of the homes also varied considerably. Best practice demands that retrofit works are conducted after property-by-property assessments and, in this case, the surveys and the numerous variables resulted in retrofit plans that were exceptionally diverse. This diversity related not only to the retrofit measures themselves, but also to the associated remediation and refurbishment works, which included re-roofing, lighting, groundworks and structural repairs.

Other important challenges that we addressed at the earliest possible design stage included the distances between each site, and some uncertainty as to whether certain properties would be included in the scheme due to planning constraints. Any that had to be dropped from the scheme would have to be replaced with ‘infill’ properties.

This all demanded clear and coherent stakeholder communication, a detailed mobilisation plan, and careful attention with respect to logistics and programming.

Results

The scheme began in March 2024. The team maintained good progress, albeit a large number of properties had to be removed from the scope of the scheme due to difficulties with planning consents. We therefore played a key role in promoting the benefits of the scheme within the local communities in order to help find and secure infill properties to make up the shortfall.

Such was the variety of archetypes and measures that there was no ‘typical’ property on this scheme. However, they all benefited from an appropriate mix of remediation works, energy efficiency improvements and aesthetic enhancements. Examples of impactful measures included the use of fire-safe mineral fibre external wall insulation, top-up loft insulation, replacement doors and windows, and the installation of air source heat pumps and/or solar PV panels.

As a result of taking this careful, property-by-property approach, the properties achieved the target of EPC band C or better with the project completing in January 2026.

In addition to reducing carbon emissions and residents’ energy usage, the works will also help to improve the appearance of the various local neighbourhoods.