Bringing it Home
"We really, really need to insulate our homes, both for the environment and to reduce energy poverty"
Residents voice
We want to enhance the places we call home by making them more sustainable, with people living and working in buildings that are good for them and the planet. We want our neighbourhoods to be places we are proud of, which improve our health and wellbeing, giving us a platform from which to thrive.
The places in which we live, work and study in Kirklees are a mix of the traditional and the modern, centuries old villages steeped in local history and legend; buildings and locations made famous by writers, film, and television; and vibrant towns full of art, creativity, and local produce.
The quality of our homes and the strength of our communities has a massive impact on our quality of life. This theme is all about enhancing that quality by creating sustainable buildings and neighbourhoods that are energy efficient, affordable, and conducive to modern living and the social, economic, and environmental challenges we face.
A BRE report finds poor housing is costing NHS £1.4 billion a year on treating people affected by poor housing, in the UK. In 2021, 17.3% of Kirklees' households were classified as 'fuel poor', which means after paying for heating, the households disposable income puts them below the official poverty line.
Ways to address these challenges exist. According to the Energy Saving Trust: Roof and loft insulation improving the energy efficiency of homes through loft insulation could save £240 per year on energy bills for a mid-terrace house and up to £445 per year on for a detached house, and replacing single-glazed windows with A-rated double glazing could save £165 per year.
In everday life, this might look like:
- Neighbourhoods where people can easily meet their daily needs, socialise, and feel safe.
- High quality urban environments where homes and buildings have been designed and built to a sustainable standard, keeping the occupants warm in the winter, cool in the summer and don't cost the Earth to run.
- Kirklees being home to sustainable neighbourhoods that feature everything from community allotments and gardens; community renewables; sustainable education programmes; a sustainable food strategy; and tough action on antisocial behaviour such as fly tipping and littering.
What we have done
Developing our skills and providing funding, support, and guidance to 'bring it home' is the primary focus of many partners across Kirklees.
Third Sector Leaders run a Community Buildings and Energy Project 2023 . It aims to improve the quality of community buildings in the district by providing the skills needed to manage the buildings and helping communities to access the necessary finance and technical advice needed to do improvement works.
This is coupled with Community Grants for Climate Projects, run in partnership with Kirklees Council and West Yorkshire Combined Authority, which offers £5,000 to £50,000 to support climate friendly projects such as local, clean energy solutions and energy efficient buildings.
Organisations such as One Community also facilitate the provision of Household Support for food, cost of living or energy poverty, where grants of up to £10,000 are available for eligible people through either the 'Household Support Fund' or the 'West Yorkshire Mayor's Fund'.
Partner case studies
These partner case studies summarise vital action by partnership organisations for the 'Bringing it Home' theme within Kirklees.
Kirklees Council carried out the first full house retrofit in the district. Run as a pilot scheme to help measure carbon reduction and inform future schemes, eight properties in Abbey Road, Fartown had a 'fabric first' approach of insulating loft, cavities, and the external walls as well as the installation of renewable technologies, including a heat pump for heating and Solar PV/solar thermal panels.
The Abbey Road Retrofit scheme made the finals in the 'Best Social Housing Category' at the MJ awards, which recognise excellence and innovation in Council Services.
All Kirklees Council housing tenants have been offered free energy health checks to reduce carbon and save them money.
3,500 houses across Kirklees were offered energy health checks. Tenants' energy tariffs were reviewed to make sure they were not overpaying on their bills. Qualified surveyors recommended the most energy efficient settings for boilers, and identifying repairs that could make homes warmer and cheaper to run. The health checks also offered tips on how to stay warm, offered debt advice, and support on claiming benefits where eligible.
The Council housing tenants receive free energy-saving health checks on their homes - Kirklees Together news article provides more information about the energy health checks.
What we want to achieve
Good buildings - all buildings in Kirklees to be energy efficient at a minimum of EPC C by 2030
Environment for all (E4A)
Resilient futures (RF)
Net zero energy supply by 2038
Sustainable economic development (SED)
Resilient futures (RF)
Sustainable neighbourhoods programme launched by 2026
Environment for all (E4A)
Resilient futures (RF)
Sustainable Neighbourhoods Explained
Helping communities in Kirklees achieve a balance between the social, economic, and environmental aspects of sustainability, in line with the unique needs of that community. A sustainable neighbourhood has three key features: a vibrant street life, walkability, and affordability.
For more information see A New Strategy of Sustainable Neighbourhood Planning Five principles
Each objective for 'Bringing it home' meets one or more of our 'Always On' priorities, Sustainable Economic Development (SED), Resilience Futures (RF), Environment for All (E4A).
Resilient futures
- Enhancing the resilience of our buildings to the physical impact of future environmental change, with a focus on reducing the vulnerability of occupants.
- Adopting a fabric first approach1 in all new builds and building refurbishment practices.
- Reduce the building performance design gap (this is the gap between the predicted energy use at the design stage, versus the actual energy use when occupied).
Environment for all and Resilient futures
- Ensuring that good energy efficient homes (new or renovated) are accessible to all residents, irrespective of economic standing.
- Developing a dedicated sustainable neighbourhood's programme featuring everything from educational programmes on sustainable lifestyles to allotments and community-owned green space.
Sustainable economic development and Environment for all
- Increasing our energy independence and resilience through low-impact, renewable sources.
Environment for all
- Making all new buildings built in Kirklees climate ready and operationally Net Zero.
Our introduction explains in more detail about our ambitions for this strategy, our always on priorities that each target is underpinned by, and provides more information about each individual target. Alternatively you can download our targets plan on a page graphic.
Summary data for Bringing it Home
As of 2021, the Governments sub-regional fuel poverty data shows that Kirklees has 182,834 households, 17.3% of which are classified as 'fuel poor'. This is 0.5% higher than for West Yorkshire as a whole.
'Fuel Poor' Explained
A household is considered fuel poor if they are living in a property with an energy efficiency rating of band D or below and when they spend the required amount of time to heat their home, they are left with the residual income below the official poverty line.
For more information see What is Fuel Poverty? | National Energy Action (NEA).
'EPCs' Explained
Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) tell you how energy efficient a building is and give it a rating from 'A' (very efficient) to 'G' (inefficient). They'll tell you how costly it will be to heat and light your property, and what its carbon dioxide emissions are likely to be, alongside providing possible recommendations for how the rating can be improved.
For more information see Energy Performance Certificates explained
Kirklees has a total of 160,395 EPC registered for residential properties with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
In total, 35.1% of these residential EPCs are rated C or above. The EPC rating with the largest percentage is D, at 42.3%, which is below our headline target objective of a C.
2023 Percentage of Kirklees households organised by EPC Rating
Percentage of cumulative Kirklees certificates
- A - 0.2%
- B - 7.6%
- C - 27.3%
- D - 42.3%
- E - 17.5%
- F - 3.8%
- G - 1.3%
As a district, Kirklees used 4,993.62 GWh of energy (heating and electricity) in 2021. Based on the UK Energy Brief Data, only 12% of this consumption has been generated by renewable energy sources.
From an organisation perspective, 30.4% of Kirklees Councils 2022/23 energy use (heat and electricity) was generated by renewable sources.
