Affinity Sutton (FutureFit)

Area of expertise: Exisiting housing

FutureFit is Affinity Sutton’s flagship project that aims to provide unique insights into how the Green Deal could work in social housing. Verco helped to show how low carbon activities can be mainstreamed to deliver significant energy and CO2 savings.

As part of the FutureFit project, Verco has been working with Affinity Sutton to understand the potential to finance a stock-wide Green Deal programme. Verco has undertaken in-depth financial analysis and evaluated the key steps to improve the viability of Green Deal as a financing mechanism for delivering energy efficiency improvements in social housing stock.

Initial findings from Verco’s analysis suggest that there is an average funding gap of approximately £3,000 per property between the net cost of carrying out the works and the value of energy savings. This gap can be filled but would require a significant proportion of ECO funding, along with packages designed purely to meet the ‘golden rule’ (the cost of the repayments should not exceed the savings on the energy bills). The importance of low cost finance is also highlighted.

A webinar launched the findings from the in-depth financial analysis undertaken as part of the FutureFit project, including the detail behind the project’s headline financial figures revealed in the first report. To view a recording, please click here

Further information and a copy of the initial report can be found here

Related services

Existing housing

Verco has a recognised track record of leadership in existing homes, working on policy development and providing housing strategies to over 20 local authorities and registered providers. We have an intimate understanding of all relevant mechanisms to support low carbon measures.

Related sectors

Property and infrastructure

For new buildings, there is a substantial energy performance gap experienced by clients between the energy use predicted by designers and the metered energy use for operation over a year.

Related projects

North London retrofit potential

Verco was commissioned on behalf of six North London boroughs to develop an area based retrofit action plan. This is one of the most thorough pieces of analysis on Green Deal opportunities, including the range of risks, values and delivery options for Local Authorities.

The Energy Bill Revolution

This mainstream campaign was commissioned by Transform UK, the Co-operative Group and Consumer Focus. Verco provided comprehensive analysis on Green Deal/ ECO opportunities and fuel poverty alleviation potential across the UK.

Whole house low carbon refurbishment

We investigated the potential for whole house low carbon refurbishment to deliver 80% carbon reductions in existing homes. The work involves identifying the whole package of carbon reduction measures that are required, the cost per house of installing all these measures, the key barriers to a whole house approach and the main policy instruments for delivery. Our research fed into the UK Government’s ‘Heat and Energy Saving Strategy’.

The Existing Homes Alliance

We helped establish the Existing Homes Alliance, which sets out the action required from businesses, housing and environmental organisations and government to put the UK housing stock on the road to deep cuts in carbon emissions and energy bills.

Northstowe: an exemplar of sustainability

Large, long term, phased developments such as the 9500 home Northstowe exemplar of sustainability pose critical challenges for the delivery of community energy systems due to the requirement for early investment in shared generation and distribution infrastructure set against uncertainty in the timing, value and size of the customer base and associated revenue streams.

Zero Carbon House

The Zero Carbon House is a low energy demonstration project to show how renewable energy can create a unique living experience on a remote island in a severe climate. A holistic approach has been taken to eliminating household carbon emissions that would normally result from heating and powering the home, running the family car and growing and transporting food.

Zero Carbon Development

Delivering low and zero carbon growth

Winton Estate

Expansion of pioneering biomass heating syste

Stratford City

Stratford City is a £4bn mixed use regeneration project in Newham, East London on derelict former railway lands. Camco Advisory Services Ltd (CAS) worked alongside the design team to develop a sustainable energy strategy that responds to public policy aspirations whilst being technically and commercially viable. This work fed directly into detailed planning negotiations on energy performance for the development. Planning permission was granted in September 2004.

One Gallions

We helped Crest Nicholson BioRegional Quintain to secure this site in east London as part of the Mayor’s competition to build a flagship Zero Carbon development.

One Brighton

A Sustainable One Planet Living® Community

Wembley City

The £2bn redevelopment of land around the stadium is a flagship project for London and formed an important part of the London 2012 bid. We initially developed a Site Wide Energy Strategy to fulfill the requirements of the s106 planning agreement with the London Borough of Brent which has subsequently been approved.

Middlehaven

Camco Advisory Services Ltd (CAS) helped BioRegional Quintain Ltd (BQL) to secure and develop this English Partnerships site in the North East. The team responded to a development brief that set stringent energy standards by proposing an exemplar highly sustainable community based on principles of Zero Carbon, Zero Waste and efficient use of water and materials.

London Energy Partnership - Energy Action Areas

Camco Advisory Services Ltd (CAS) was commissioned by the Greater London Authority, on behalf of the London Energy Partnership, to define and develop the concept of ‘Energy Action Areas’ for London. These were then translated into a workable programme of action to deliver results on the ground. We proposed that a series of pilot Energy Action Areas should be centered on large scale regeneration projects where there was momentum building upon and large scale energy infrastructure being established.

Heart of East Greenwich

Camco Advisory Services Ltd (CAS) worked in collaboration with BioRegional Consulting on a project for English Partnerships, now the Homes & Communities Agency investigating appropriate sustainability standards for a number of their developments, including the carbon neutral Heart of East Greenwich scheme.

Bath Western Riverside

Integrated sustainability in the South West