Journal

“Over two decades, these upgrades have saved residents approximately £1million in heating costs and cut estate-wide carbon emissions by 11,400 tonnes.”

In 2004 when local authority retrofit (or ‘refurbishment’ as we called it then) was a lot less sexy than it is today, Tim Bell and I found ourselves in the fibreglass turrets of West Ham’s former football ground, The Boleyn Ground, in East Ham. We were being interviewed by Newham having been shortlisted in an open design competition to retrofit/refurbish around 250 homes on the Brooks Road Estate in Plaistow.

Much to our surprise we won, founded Bell Phillips, and spent the next five years working with residents on the estate to upgrade their homes and transform the quality of the estate.

An article in NLQ magazine demonstrates the benefits of the work undertaken both in terms in the reduction in energy consumed but also in terms of the cost savings to residents with energy consumption reduced by 66% and heating costs reduced by 55%. As noted above the carbon emission reduction and cost savings to residents over the past twenty years have been significant with around £1million in energy savings to residents.

An aspect of energy savings often overlooked is the benefit to residents struggling with fuel poverty. Quite rightly, the story usually focusses on the reduction of carbon emissions but it’s important to acknowledge that reducing fuel consumption also provides equitable access to warm, comfortable homes.

This article puts that in clear focus and is a pleasing reminder of the positive impact that we’ve made in a small corner of East London.

Read the full story here