300-Home Retrofit Initiative Completed in Dumfries
Energy services company Union Technical has completed work on a £1.5 million retrofit of almost 300 homes in Dumfries, managed by The Riverside Group. How will investing in Scotland’s older homes help to reach net zero targets?
Residents of the town’s Sandside Estate will benefit from newly fitted internal wall insulation, ventilation systems, and heating controls, designed to improve thermal efficiency and reduce energy bills.
Work on the 1930s sandstone properties began in April, with spending prioritised on the most poorly insulated homes.
The initiative included the installation of an internal wall insulation system designed specifically for solid wall sandstone properties, which will reduce heat demand.
Providing local residents with warmer homes is the priority
Heather Anderson, Head of Service Delivery at Riverside Scotland, explained that the project will be crucial in ensuring that residents have warm and good quality homes when it gets colder: “We are really pleased with the results of this ECO scheme which provides a welcome boost for almost 300 Riverside Scotland customers ahead of the winter.”
Investing in our older homes is a huge priority for Riverside Scotland.
Continuing, Heather added that not only will it help provide them with a warm home but will benefit them in other ways too: “This work means our residents will benefit from a warmer, more comfortable home which will help to improve health and wellbeing as well as allowing them to save money on their energy bills.”
New ventilation systems to manage moisture have been fitted to improve air quality while eradicating damp and mould. Replacement cavity wall insulation has also been installed and a liquid damp proof course applied.
Retrofitting is now complete on 250 of the homes, with the remaining 46 homes due to be upgraded by early November.
Funding is being given to boost community hubs across Dumfries
To mark the project’s completion, Union Technical has donated £5,000 to the Sandside Community Garden project to fund further improvements to the outdoor space.
On this, local resident and chairperson of the Sandside Gardening Project, Paul McGregor expressed: “I’d like to thank Union Technical for their generous donation to our gardening project. The garden is a space to bring the community together and combat isolation.
“We are going to use some of the funds for our outdoor cooking area where we will host community barbecues and other events. The donation will also help fund more seating so more people can come along and have a chat and a cuppa with friends.”
The Riverside Group has a target of bringing all their homes up to a minimum EPC Band C by 2030, and as more than 80 per cent of the housing stock that the UK will have in 2045 already exists, seeing retrofit initiatives like this one take place will be essential to reaching our net zero goals.
