Sustainable Biz Magazine A4 March 2023 - Flipbook - Page 41
“The sustainability agenda runs through everything we do
at Hertfordshire County Council. We are seeing the Eastern
region getting drying and hotter at a faster rate than anywhere
else in the country, and although the political landscape in
Hertfordshire is changing, incoming leaders will continue to
deal with all the same issues we are facing now."
FIVE KEY WORKSHOP TAKEAWAYS
Richard Roberts, Leader of
Hertfordshire County Council
and Hertfordshire LEP Board
member, on the county’s ongoing
commitment to sustainability:
“The sustainability agenda runs through
everything we do at Hertfordshire County
Council. We are seeing the Eastern region
getting drying and hotter at a faster
rate than anywhere else in the country,
and although the political landscape
in Hertfordshire is changing, incoming
leaders will continue to deal with all
the same issues we are facing now.
The substantial funding that has been
leveraged locally has the potential to
make a big difference, but to succeed it is
vital that all stakeholders work together.”
Gavin Cansfield, Chief Executive of
settle, on Government’s long-term
commitment:
“The Social Housing Decarbonisation
Fund Wave 2.1 is a two year programme
with an £800m allocation, but this is
just one small part of a wider £1.3bn
commitment by Government over the
next 10 years. Stakeholders can rest
assured that the retrofit agenda is only set
to grow, and it brings with it the chance
to provide an enormous amount of social
value to local communities.”
Maxine Narburgh, Regional Head
of the Greater South East Net Zero
Hub (GSENZH), on the scale of the
opportunity:
“The UK has some of the oldest and most
inefficient housing stock in Europe, and
across the country there are 25 million
homes to decarbonise by 2050. To meet
this goal we would need to retrofit
8 homes per minute, with 523,000
jobs expected to be created in the
Greater South East region alone. The
opportunity is huge and if done right,
could bring about a significant uplift to
local businesses and those residents
most struggling with fuel poverty.”
John Swinney, Sustainability Lead
at Greener Herts, on the need for
collaboration:
“This is the first time work is taking
place on this scale in Hertfordshire,
and this presents a chance to introduce
brand new models of working. Every
single area in Hertfordshire has secured
funding, making this is a genuine,
county-wide opportunity. This is also
not a one-off initiative – future waves of
Government funding will be needed to
take us from where we are now to Net
Zero. Collaborating will mean reducing
waste, avoiding duplication and getting
things done cheaper and quicker.
There is also a massive opportunity to
showcase exemplar projects that can
tell the story of what we are achieving
here in Hertfordshire.”
Norman Jennings, Operations
Director at Hertfordshire LEP,
on the county’s labour market
landscape:
“Hertfordshire has a low unemployment
rate and low NEET rate (young people
not in education, employment or
training), however we have seen
around 18,000 people leave the jobs
market over the past year, partly due
to COVID-19. This makes it all the more
important that we build a strong future
talent pipeline and raise awareness
among young people, our current
workforce and training providers of the
growing career prospects relating to
retrofit.”
ABOUT THE FUNDING
The £100m+ investment secured in
Hertfordshire comprises Government
and match funding from the Social
Housing Decarbonisation Fund Wave
2.1, which aims to improve the energy
performance of social homes in
England. Other funding opportunities
and retrofit activities enhancing
Hertfordshire homes include:
Home Upgrade Grant 2 - a two
year grant providing energy efficiency
upgrades and low carbon heating to
low income off grid households.
Solar Together - group discounted
procurement scheme for households
to buy solar panels, batteries and/or
connected EV charging infrastructure.
Eco 4 - Energy Company
Obligation - a four year Government
scheme from 2022, supporting lowest
income residents with free boiler
upgrades and central heating.
Green Heat Network - capital grant
support for the development of new
and existing low and zero-carbon heat
networks.
Hertfordshire LEP is planning future
workshops for autumn 2023 to further
develop the sector and support the
SME supply chain to access the retrofit
opportunity. To register your interest,
email info@hertfordshirelep.co.uk.
Learn more about us:
www.hertfordshirelep.com
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