Did you know that
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Carbon emissions from our homes account for half of Lewisham’s carbon emissions.
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80% of Lewisham’s housing needs to be improved to be carbon neutral by 2030.
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Simply by better insulating our homes in Lewisham and increasing renewable energy generation, we can massively reduce both our carbon footprint AND our energy costs
We now know that climate change is causing dangerous and widespread disruption in nature and is affecting the lives of billions of people around the world.
Project Update
How's it going on Gordonbrock?
We have held several gatherings with the Gordonbrock residents and discussed environment, energy-saving, the role of the home in reducing carbon emissions and the possibilities they have.
Many are keen to improve the energy efficiency of their homes, in view of environment and rising CO2 but also the cost of bills, which is biting.
After around 16 homes were surveyed for a Whole House Plan, the biggest heat loss to all of them was the walls. Five homes have now been surveyed for External Wall Insulation (EWI), with one home interested in Internal Wall Insulation (IWI).
It is dawning on them that it can be an invasive process, especially IWI, and that it's the most expensive. A major barrier for many of these householders is available finance for these costly measures, and we are working to try and find low-cost ways to help such as group purchase.
Our aim is to support as many homes as possible to retrofit and save as much CO2 as possible, and we're working with Bhesco in Brighton, who also have their own street, and Carbon Coop in Manchester, who are supporting their own Future Fit Street.
Wish us luck!
How It Works
What it includes
Why we're doing this
The Future-Fit Streets program provides expert guidance worth over £20,000 to one street in Lewisham (Gordonbrock Road) that would like to make their homes fit for the future. Residents will get:
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Free Whole house plans for up to 20 houses (valued at £350 per plan).
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Future-Fit parties: friendly social occasions to learn from an expert how to best to future-fit your homes (possibly involving fully-funded wine and cheese)
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Grant funding: so we will assess whether your household is eligible for a grant and support any applications you make.
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Savings: Our retrofit co-ordinator will provide the right support group purchasing of measures such as solar PV or insulation reducing their costs
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Advice and support from a retrofit coordinator just a phone call away.
Gordonbrock Road is one of three streets that are all going through the same process. The other streets will be based in Manchester (supported by Carbon Co-op) and Brighton (supported by BHESCo).
The Future-Fit Streets program is funded by The MCS Charitable Foundation and The Environmental Funders Network as a research project to increase the UK's knowledge about community led retrofit.
Why Gordonbrock?
Gordonbrock road won a competitive process in Lewisham to find the most appropriate street. It has a row of similar homes with the same build, and a healthy community which can work together to reduce their carbon impact and save money.
Any Questions?
If you would like to discuss the project in more detail, please contact us on 020 4566 5764 or futurefithomes@selce.org.uk
Here’s to a greener, fairer, safer world.
