In the first of our articles on Glasgow's 'Greenprint for Investment' we look at the proposal for £10bn investment over a decade in a large scale home energy efficiency retrofit programme to upgrade up to 450,000 homes in the region to Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rated C and to explore the use of renewable technologies to deliver clean energy heat sources.
My colleague Chris Dun recently blogged on the need for a deep retrofit of Scotland's housing.
Everyone agrees that Scotland's housing would benefit hugely from a deep retrofit. The benefits from such a programme are clear. It has the potential to make a very significant contribution towards Scotland's net zero target, as well as reducing fuel poverty, improving the health of residents and potentially creating lots of new jobs. As recognised by the Greenprint for Glasgow, this applies to Glasgow just as it does to the rest of Scotland.
It is estimated that around 428,000 homes in the Glasgow region have an EPC rating of D-G. Like almost everywhere else in the UK, Glasgow is not building enough new housing quickly enough to re-balance the profile of its overall stock. This has resulted in too much of the region's housing being draughty, poorly insulated and reliant on out-of-date heating systems.
The pressing need for a deep retrofit in Glasgow is clear. It is an issue that affects not only the tenements for which it is known, but all types and tenure of housing, including affordable, private rented and privately owned.
So far, a mixture of grants and other incentives have been relied on to encourage individuals and other owners of housing to undertake energy efficiency works. While this has had some impact, it has not been enough and so Glasgow's Greenprint estimates that £10bn will be needed to deliver a large scale home energy efficiency retrofit programme. But how can this be achieved and where will the money come from?
With the City Council grabbing the reins, it may be possible to direct a single co-ordinated programme to tackle deep retrofitting that Chris previously called for and set an example for the rest of Scotland. Any such programme should involve representatives from key stakeholders including, government, local authorities, housing associations, healthcare, the property industry, finance and most importantly residents.
While continued incentives will help to drive change, inevitably requirements will also have to be imposed. The Scottish Government's Heat in Building Strategy sets out timescales for minimum standards of energy efficiency to be met by homes. Private homeowners and landlords will have to play their part in improving their housing to meet the minimum standards set when it comes to buying, selling or renting their properties. This will only be a part of the solution and the question remains, how will the rest be paid for?
The cost per home will be substantial. However, we need to balance this against the benefits both in terms of climate change impact and also on improving the health and quality of life of residents.
The Glasgow Greenprint is seeking private investment and looking at different funding models. However, it will not be sufficient to rely on a mix of private finance and current government funding. We must think much bigger if we are to achieve what is needed.
We need to think outside the box and seek to create a government backed funding programme focused on addressing this issue. This needs to be long-term and with success measured against achievement of the benefits highlighted above.
Repayment of such funding would need to tie in with the churn of the housing benefited in relation to the private housing sector and in relation to the social and affordable sector by long ended modelling against the business plans of the housing provider.
This is one of the biggest challenges facing us but given the core importance of a properly heated and insulated home, it is encouraging to see Glasgow wants to address it head on.
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