ALMOST half of council house tenants in Winchester are refusing improvement works to their homes with reasons ranging from ill children to a loss of storage.

In a retrofitting programme to make council homes more energy efficient, cheaper and cosier, only 850 of 1,585 households approached have accepted – meaning 735, or 46 per cent, have declined.

Homes first go through energy assessments and then surveys for damp and mould, ventilation and asbestos. These surveys can offer a solution of upgrading ventilation or removing asbestos and mould and there is also a programme which sees loft and wall cavity insulation installed.

Cllr Chris Westwood, chairman of the cabinet housing committee, said during a meeting on February 5 that it brings benefits to residents and means the council will have gone from “virtually nothing” to completing more than 400 in the financial year. 

“The lessons we’ve learnt over the last nine months are not just technical issues of upgrading but the communication programme,” he added.

The committee was told by an officer that tenants may have personal reasons ranging from upgrades being disruptive, losing storage, ‘my husband has just come from hospital’, ‘kid being ill’ and ‘hearsay’ for work not to be carried out. 

READ MORE: Winchester Council on track to build more than 1,000 homes by 2030

Hampshire Chronicle: Retrofitting upgrades

In the case of loft insulation, ventilation work needs to be done alongside it but the biggest issue is that households lose storage as nothing can be placed on top of the loft insulation. The council said it is trying to find alternative storage but it is not guaranteed and any alternative may not be secure and items left at owners’ risk, so loft insulation is being declined.

The improvements on offer as part of the retrofitting programme for the social housing decarbonisation funding project (SHDF) are loft insulation, ventilation upgrades and door undercuts and trickle vents being fitted in windows. The officer in charge of the SHDF said 46 out of 70 houses have taken up the offer and the contractors have started this week.

New cavity wall insulation is also making a difference to tenants by improving living standards and reducing energy bills, with the council looking at making the improvements in 82 homes.
There are strict criteria for loft insulation and only 10 per cent of homes meet the criteria. The home itself might not have a well-enough vented roof or eaves before work can begin and if asbestos is nearby, work can not begin. 

Cllr Westwood said: “The involvement, the encouragement, the endorsements are a major part of the program as well as doing the physical upgrades to the properties. 

“It is fundamental, treating people in the right way. Going in with respect. We are going into people’s homes and must do the job properly and tidily and leave the benefit behind.”

The engagement programme is mostly traditional communication, like coffee mornings, website, videos and forums to engage residents.

The council will introduce WhatsApp to communicate with 18 to 27-year-olds to get their message of the benefits of retrofitting to this age group.