SHDF success stories | Trent and Dove, Wychavon District Council
Introduction
[24 October 2022] Resident Miriam shares her experience of the transformational retrofit measures installed by Trent and Dove Housing Association – part of Wychavon District Council’s £5.8 million SHDF Demonstrator project.
Contents
Miriam's Story
Miriam Pagett, aged 76, has lived alone in a social home in the Burton area since her husband died several years ago. With draughty windows and old electric heating, it used to take a long time to heat her house.
Trent and Dove Housing Association has been retrofitting Miriam’s home as part of a scheme with Wychavon District Council and three other housing associations that was awarded £5.8 million through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Demonstrator.
"It's such a good thing to have, it keeps the house so warm"
Miriam was thrilled with the improvements. “It’s such a good thing to have,” she said, “it keeps the house so warm. I really noticed the difference when the windows went in. That was amazing, you can hardly hear any noise. Absolutely brilliant!”
Miriam’s home has been fitted with new windows, roof insulation, ventilation, heating controls and external wall insulation. Although the works take time to install, Trent and Dove made sure it was not too disruptive.
“A lady named Cath, absolutely lovely lady, she used to come every time there was something going to be done to let me know, so you’d either be up or if you needed to go out, it was ever so good.” Cath is the resident liaison officer from Sustainable Building Services (UK) Ltd, the principal contractor for the project.
Trent and Dove has also been using a new ‘brick effect’ technique with the external wall insulation to make sure the houses fit in with the rest of the street. “I think it’s amazing, the way they do these bricks, I thought it was all stuck on, but it’s not, it’s like a work of art… they’re just patting all the bricks with this thing, they’ve got a little tool like this for all the bricks. It looks so nice!”
"If somebody asked me about it, I would certainly tell them to have it. I think it’s amazing I really do..."
Miriam’s home is just one of 187 properties being treated through the Wychavon District Council scheme and Miriam said she would recommend it to everyone: “If somebody asked me about it, I would certainly tell them to have it. I think it’s amazing I really do, the technology that’s about today is second to none!"
Find out more about the support on offer through the Social Housing Retrofit Accelerator.
