BLOG – Keeping Retrofit Momentum Alive in Greater Manchester
Over the past few years, significant investment has helped drive retrofit engagement across Greater Manchester. The hard-to-reach communities Groundwork have engaged showed a real interest in learning new ways to keep their homes warm and trust was re-built for government backed schemes. For many households, these programmes led to great success, with low-carbon measures installed leading to lower bills and warmer, healthier homes.
But for Shammy Walton, Green Homes Manager at Groundwork Greater Manchester, the retrofit momentum has slowed significantly over the last 6-months and it’s a cause for concern.
There’s been noticeable shifts in funding cycles. Delivery programmes have narrowed. Installers have exited the market. However, the challenge of cold homes and high energy bills remains high for the people Shammy and colleagues provide support to.
This blog highlights some of the experiences from Shammy and her team and Groundwork’s thoughts on what’s now needed to protect the progress already made to retrofit homes in Greater Manchester, ensuring no one is left behind as we move into the next wave of support.
Retrofit aftercare: An overlooked challenge
For residents, having the measures installed is not the end of their retrofit journey. Everyone requires advice about new features in their home, at varying levels. For some advice maybe simply in the form of a manual, but for others practical demonstrations, 1-2-1 walkthroughs or someone to ring when things feel unfamiliar is required.
We’re finding that for many household’s installation companies aren’t there to respond to queries. Many are no longer operating; others are hard to reach. Where there is certification or insurance about new measures, these are difficult to navigate; both for our team of energy advice professionals and vulnerable residents.
With residents struggling to access follow-up support, many measures are being underutilised and the people we promised to support remain living in cold homes and paying high energy prices. If left unresolved, there is a risk of undermining confidence in retrofit.
How Groundwork are helping
Despite funding gaps, Groundwork’s energy advisors are finding ways to support residents with aftercare challenges. Continuing to work closely with our partners, we work hard to ensure measures are working as they should, residents feel confident and they can live warm and well.
Here’s one example of a vulnerable resident who was left behind after their install.
Frank’s Story*
Name changed to protect identity
In Heywood, Rochdale lives Frank, an elderly gentleman with dementia. When we first met Frank on a home visit back in September 2024, we noticed his house was in a bad condition and that both the home and his health would benefit from home improvements. He had no central heating in the property, windows were rotting and draughty and the roof was letting in water.
Before Frank could apply for retrofit measures, he first needed to sort out his leaky roof. A task which was very overwhelming for him and that he had been putting off for years. Working alongside Rochdale Council, we helped coordinate the repair works for Frank, rotting wooden window frames were replaced with UPVC frames and double glazing and the roof was fixed.
Once the roof was fixed Frank was able to get solar panels installed through the Home Upgrade scheme, Rochdale Council and Groundwork then facilitated install of ESH (Storage Heaters). The online application portal was overwhelming for Frank so our team assisted with this process and once approved, left him in the hands of the installation team.
When we contacted him a few months later to see how the works went and hear if he now felt warmer in his home, we discovered that only a few weeks after the solar panels were installed, an electrician condemned them as the installer hadn’t put them on their own electrical circuit, leading to a major potential risk for Frank’s electrics.
9 months after first meeting Frank and discovering his living conditions, he was still in a cold house.
Of course, we contacted an electrician on Frank’s behalf and ensured the measures were connected properly. We double checked he was on the correct solar tariff and that he knew how things worked.
Frank is now saving on his energy bills and is able to keep the heating on when he’s cold.
His daughter commented,
Thank you so much for your help, he is definitely warmer and happier
Frank’s story is one of many. On Holborn Street a resident had no idea how to use their new heat pump as no guidance was provided by the installer, meaning they hadn’t contacted their energy provider to switch to a solar tariff. On Egremont Street, a vulnerable resident’s home remained cold as their new heat pump was poorly installed and the installation company has now gone under making maintenance support difficult to access. We are providing ongoing support to ensure that all issues are rectified with the help of a local contractor and Rochdale Council.
In all three of the above examples, Groundwork was able to step in and provide support. Our relationship with Rochdale Council has been integral to this because they have enabled us to provide services and support in collaboration, meaning that residents get independent advice and support alongside their Local Authority and designated Installers. This is an approach we would be keen to replicate with other local authorities in Greater Manchester, please contact us if you would like to discuss this more.
What next for retrofit in Greater Manchester?
There is still appetite in our communities for retrofit but at this stage, fewer opportunities to respond at scale. We’ve built trust, awareness and readiness across Greater Manchester and the challenge of cold homes and high bills remains urgent.
Here at Groundwork Greater Manchester, some things are clear should we want to make retrofit work:
- Stable, longer-term funding
- Broader eligibility to reflect real-world need
- Built-in aftercare and quality assurance support
Shammy Walton
Green Homes Manager