Places for People working with NatWest and British Gas on major retrofit pilot

Under the trial, properties will initially be assessed for using technologies such as air-source heat pumps, ground-source heat pumps and heat networks.

British Gas will then inspect properties on site.

A spokesperson for the consortium said the choice of technology will be “guided by the unique requirements of each property”.

But they added: “Ultimately, the project’s primary goal is to address funding challenges for landlords, rather than trialling different technologies.”

NatWest will provide debt funding and explore “additional funding solutions”, such as selling excess energy back to the grid and revenue from solar energy.

The spokesperson said: “While this type of funding has been explored before in not-dissimilar approaches, we are not aware of any other landlord seeking to use it at this scale, nor with the aim to create a blueprint for the industry.”

Tech firms Sero and Tallarna are also involved in the project.

The groups said: “By working collaboratively, this consortium streamlines the entire retrofitting process, allowing landlords to avoid the complexity of coordinating multiple partners, funding arrangements and delivery stages.”

Greg Reed, chief executive of 240,000-home Places for People, said there was a “critical need for fresh ideas” in the social housing sector to tackle sustainability issues.

“By participating in this project, we’re driving progress towards our own sustainability goals while supporting the industry in developing innovative, scalable solutions to achieve net-zero emissions,” he said.

The government’s £3.8bn Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund is providing money to landlords through phases, but the sector has called for the full amount to be released.

Miatta Fahnbulleh, a minister in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, said: “I welcome the move from British Gas and its partners to roll out low-carbon heating to more social homes, helping to cut emissions and strengthen our energy independence.”

Marcos Navarro, director and sustainability lead at NatWest Group, added: “We aim to build on the successes with Places for People to extend this approach to benefit other social housing landlords across the UK.” 

It comes after the bank announced in March it planned to lend £5bn to the social housing sector over the next three years.

Asked by Inside Housing how long the trial will last, when the results will be published and if they will be made public, the spokesperson said: “All stakeholders are committed to sharing the findings as the project progresses, as they aim to take a thought-leadership role and help advance this type of work.

“While the exact details of how this will be done are still being finalised, the core principle is a commitment to transparency.

“The goal is to ensure that any insights and learnings are widely shared across the industry to support broader decarbonisation efforts.”

NatWest held a first roundtable in the Greater Manchester region to discuss the project, where seven organisations took part. A second roundtable is planned for Scotland later this year, while others are planned for the North East, Midlands, London and the South East.