Rykneld Homes – SHDF Wave 2.1

North East Derbyshire, England

Project Value: £22m

Introduction

This multi-measure scheme, delivered on behalf of North East Derbyshire District Council, represented a further consolidation of the long-standing relationship between SBS and Rykneld Homes. It followed the delivery of multiple decarbonisation measures under other funding streams including the Home Upgrade Grant (HUG) and the Local Area Delivery scheme (LAD) phases 1A, 1B, 2 and 3. Those projects began in 2022 and had a collective value of around £12 million.

On the strength of their success, Rykneld Homes and SBS produced an evidence-based SHDF Wave 2 bid that secured SHDF Wave 2 funding for a £16 million successor scheme. Again, it would be a multi-measure programme, delivered to the latest PAS standards. It would feature a range of challenging, non-traditional archetypes, and would constitute one of the largest SHDF Wave 2-funded schemes in the country.

The Project

The project entailed installing multiple decarbonisation measures to a total of 640 homes, using funding from Streams 1 and 2 of SHDF Wave 2. Property types included REEMA, Aireys, Wates, Unity, No Fines and BISF.

This wide variety of non-traditional archetypes made it especially important to adhere to Trustmark principles and develop designs and action plans on the basis of property-by-property surveys. It also demanded that staff maintain excellent communications with residents in order that work could be completed quickly and efficiently, with minimal disruption to individual households and the wider community.

Following a fabric-first approach, primary measures included external wall insulation, loft insulation, energy-efficient doors and windows. To maximise economies-of-scale, retrofit works are being delivered in conjunction with other repairs including re-roofing and structural improvements.

Results

Having already conducted a housing asset review, and with supply chain partners alerted well in advance, the team was able to mobilise quickly upon award. Within the first 8 months, SBS had already handed over more than 220 properties.

As a result of its early success, the team secured £500,000 of additional devolution funding for the incorporation of solar PV arrays within the SHDF programme and 7 whole-house retrofits to ‘off-gas’ properties. Measures included the installation of new cavity wall insulation, 7kW air source heat pumps, and 4.2kW solar PV arrays.

Work is ongoing, so the full extent of savings in terms of carbon and energy use has yet to be accurately measured. Listed below are the calculated annual savings pertaining to the first 640 of the homes receiving SHDF-funded improvements.

Total space-heating savings:      51,006 kWh/m²/year
Average per property:                  79.7 kWh/m²/year

Total CO2 savings:                       966,790 kg/year
Average per property:                  1,511 kg/year

Total energy savings:                   4,475,883 kwh/year
Average per property:                  6,994 kwh/year

The scheme continues to grow in terms of property numbers so its impacts will inevitably increase over time.

Client Feedback

Describing the successful collaboration with SBS, Niall Clark, Deputy Managing Director of Rykneld Homes said: “We’ve been working with SBS for a number of years now and what they bring is capacity, and skills… helping us both to prepare a bid and with actually getting on site early and then being able to deliver. We’ve got confidence in their quality, and the two teams work really well together.”

Helen Brown, Head of Regeneration at Rykneld Homes notes that “We’ve all got joint goals and we all know what part we have to play; we have regular meetings, we do joint customer engagement, and we certainly have a collaborative approach. It think we’re very much in synergy and we’re developing some amazing schemes for our customers. I think we’ve got an excellent working relationship. We’re improving the lives of our customers but we’re also improving the street scene of the communities we’re working in.”

Resident Feedback

“It’s going to cut back on bills, which is what everybody’s wanting, and it’ll be a lot more comfortable. We’ll not have to sit with our jumpers on and put a coat on to go and make a cup of tea. And even the general outlook and the feel of the place is better.”

“Even now, the homes are warmer and in winter it’s going to be great. It should save us a lot on electricity because we’re not going to have to have the heating on so much, and when you’re a pensioner, you know, every penny counts.”

“We’re not using much gas like we used to. We don’t get any wind coming through the window blowing the curtains out, like we used to; it’s just been fantastic – we’re saving money.”

“Rykneld Homes and SBS – always obliging; always answer a call if you ring up; not a two-day delay – straight away.”