How Will £77m Fund 8,000 Affordable Homes?
Yorkshire Housing has secured a £77 million deal with NatWest to help develop a further 8,000 affordable homes by 2030. Housing Industry Leaders explores how the deal will help Yorkshire decarbonise its existing homes.
The housing association already own and manages 20,000 affordable and social rent homes across 20 local authorities and has plans to increase its portfolio by around 20 per cent over the next eight years by providing more energy-efficient homes.
Decarbonising Existing Homes Is The Focus For Yorkshire Housing
Yorkshire Housing has said that the £77 million NatWest funding package will enable the ramp-up of decarbonisation efforts of existing homes ahead of UK Government targets through a retrofit scheme.
It sees existing homes fitted out with sustainable technologies such as heat pumps and solar panels. Non-gas homes are expected to be built starting from the 2023-24 financial year.
Andrew Dexter, Director Real Estate Finance at NatWest, said: “NatWest is dedicated to supporting our customers, colleagues, and communities in Yorkshire.”
The amazing work that Yorkshire Housing is doing to create more affordable and sustainable homes across the region is paramount.
Seeing Affordable Homes Is Needed Because Of The Cost Of Living Crisis
Continuing work towards its ambition to become one of the UK’s first housing associations to stop using gas heating and hot water systems in new build homes, Yorkshire Housing is aiming to reduce its carbon footprint while minimising the impact of rising energy prices for customers.
Andy Oldale, Executive Director of Finance and Governance said: “In the midst of the current cost of living crisis, it’s more important than ever to provide affordable housing across Yorkshire.
“The funding from NatWest will allow us to build more homes, and will also enable us to make improve the energy efficiency of some of our existing homes to make them cheaper to live in. At a time of rising energy prices, this is vital for our customers.”
We’re extremely grateful to NatWest for sharing our vision to support the local community and create even more affordable housing across Yorkshire.
The UK Government Must Address Decarbonisation Challenges
It follows the release of The Sustainable Homes and Buildings Coalition’s (NatWest Group, Worcester Bosch, British Gas and Shelter) ‘Home is where the Heat is’ report, which offers insight, ideas, and recommendations for how to decarbonise homes and buildings across the UK.
As UK homes and buildings still represent 15 per cent of all carbon emissions, the report calls for the UK Government and the wider business community to address the challenges to better support customers.
One of the challenges that the report highlights is that affordable upgrades must be seen, with the wider sector needing to provide easily accessible financial products (green loans and mortgages). The report states that the UK Government should introduce a new grant system and low-carbon heat incentives to support the introduction of affordable upgrades.
This explains why NatWest is supporting housing associations in creating affordable and sustainable homes for their communities.
