Catherine Bearder, MEP for the South East of England paid a visit to Radian’s exemplar retrofit showhome in Borough Grove, Petersfield, accompanied by a delegation including six other MEPs. The delegation were given a tour of the street which has been retrofitted to an incredibly high standard, with some homes achieving as much as an 88% reduction in C02, and talked to the residents about living in an ecohome.
Radian received a funding grant of £421,000 from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), which Radian matched in order to finance its Retrofit South East project, an 18 month research project to build capacity for the low carbon retrofit of social housing in the South East. The South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) is responsible for contracting, managing, monitoring and allocating the South East’s ERDF allocation on behalf of the region.
Mrs Bearder, who successfully persuaded the delegation to visit Hampshire above other regions of Europe, stated: “Radian has shown just the innovative approach we need to take if we are to effectively cut carbon emissions. But Radian’s eco model for social housing isn’t just helping the environment, its putting money in people’s pockets by cutting energy and living costs. Through the work of the Radian Retrofit South East project, EU funds are being turned into practical solutions for tackling climate change. Today our delegation has seen how European money can help local people as well as make Europe more sustainable. These are the common objectives of EU countries.”
The centrepiece of the project is the street of retrofitted homes in Borough Grove, Petersfield, which the delegation visited. Approximately 10% of the grant and Radian’s match funding was spent on energy efficient enhancements to the homes, to take them to an exemplar retrofit level where between 77-88% reduction in household CO2 emissions has been achieved post-retrofit.
Paul Ciniglio, Radian’s Sustainability Manager, said “It is a wonderful compliment for the Parliamentary delegation from Brussels to choose Radian’s Retrofit South East project as an example of how ERDF money is being used within communities. The funding we received from Europe has allowed us to push the boundaries of retrofit to provide these exemplar homes and to disseminate the knowledge we have learned with other organisations to promote retrofit throughout the UK.”
Other key activity Radian adopted through the project, was a programme of dissemination of knowledge gained that culminated in the Radian Retrofit Conference in May. The hugely successful conference at Winchester Guildhall was attended by 309 delegates from the UK and Europe.
Mrs Bearder confirmed, “There is a huge pot of money in Brussels waiting to be invested and often organisations in the UK just don't apply for it. We need to learn how the funding process can be improved so we can get money from Brussels invested in local communities as quickly, and with as little bureaucracy, as possible. When public spending in the UK is being cut left, right and centre, our communities can turn to Brussels to get the money they need. Now more than ever our local communities need to be a part of Europe and see how we can benefit from our membership of the EU." Other activities Radian is leading, to promote the uptake of retrofit throughout the UK, through its Retrofit South East project, include: a programme of business assistance to 85 SME’s, training them in retrofit skills; the development of a conceptual finance mechanism to support retrofit on a large scale; the sharing of case studies and a regional benefits study; and the establishment of a retrofit pioneers network, made up of local authorities and housing associations. For more information about Radian’s retrofit work, please go to: http://www.radian.co.uk/201004072131/retrofit.html?mode=text-only