As part of the Let Zero project, our team has recently been asked to provide retrofit advice in the Little London area of Maltby in South Yorkshire, providing an opportunity to bring together innovative new methods and technology to analyse a defined area of housing and explore methods of doing energy efficiency improvements at large scale.
Background
Little London is a small residential area in Maltby, South Yorkshire comprising of around 130 privately rented properties, with a further 12 unoccupied properties currently awaiting demolition. The estate has a long history of being used as privately rented housing – the area being originally developed during the wartime period to accommodate workers relocated from London.
Let Zero aims to use retrofit expertise to assess how the homes could be made more
energy efficient. We are here to understand the housing challenges and work with local partners, letting agents, landlords and tenants to identify realistic options for property upgrades.
Why Little London?
Let Zero’s involvement in Little London is part of a wider ambition to better understand how to unlock retrofit potential in pockets of the private rented sector that are often harder to reach. This particular estate was identified as a valuable location due to the
concentration of privately rented homes, the non-standard housing types, and the need for improved energy efficiency and comfort for tenants.
Rather than arriving with pre-set solutions, Let Zero aims to listen, assess, and collaborate in order to create solutions unique to the situation. By working closely with local stakeholders, we want to develop a clear and realistic view of retrofit feasibility in an area that has often faced barriers to improvement.
Current progress
We have identified three main house types that are present within Little London:
1. Original red brick property, with solid wall exterior
2. Externally insulated red brick property
3. Airey, pre-cast concrete property type
Our technical team have carried out three detailed retrofit assessments (surveys and home plans) for each of the estate’s three main housing archetypes and completed a mapping exercise to place building-level data in the context of the whole estate.
As well as this onsite work, the team has also experimented with innovative technologies, to work out how we can meet the challenge of carrying out retrofit at scale, whilst maintaining a resident centred approach.
Aerial scanning and use of technology Let Zero project partners Planarific have used precise aerial drone scans to capture the 3D geometry of the buildings, this can then be used to generate predictions for property upgrade options. These outputs are helping us cross-check and validate our onsite expert assessments.
Internal geometry capture and walkthrough photography
We commissioned South Yorkshire business Turbo3D to produce internal scans for each archetype. These scans provide a basis which can be used for drawing homes across the estate, reducing costs later on. They also used equipment that captures walk through tour photography, so that homes can be explored virtually at any time. This will mean fewer site visits are required, ultimately minimising disruption to tenants.
Next steps
We will be distributing the Home Action Plans for each house we have surveyed. These plans start off by giving a detailed outline of the current energy performance of a property, then uses this to make a retrofit plan, including both short-term quick wins and long-term works. The reports help to determine reasonable measures to take, estimated impacts and indicative cost bands.
If the decision is made to progress retrofit, landlords and tenants can work with the Let Zero team to smooth the installation experience.
Home Install Support services from Let Zero include:
• Providing a detailed installation strategy.
• Coordinating any form-filling by tenants for eligible grants
• Introducing suitable suppliers from our trusted supply chain
• Getting a contract in place between the supplier and landlord to set out expectations
• Providing tenant education and facilitate retrofit information handover
