Document Boilers in Floral House

Further to the report at the March 2023 Committee, the Corporate Head of Housing reiterated the need to replace the existing boiler in Floral House IRL.  There was provision in the budget for this to take place, and the building was already relatively energy efficient, coming in at an energy efficiency rating of C, which was the desired standard for all 3,000 of the Council’s housing units by 2030.

Of the four options to replace the boiler, a like-for-like replacement of a gas boiler was the only one without unbudgeted costs, and was the only option that would not increase residents’ fuel bills should usage remain unchanged.

The proposed fabric measures to improve energy efficiency were unbudgeted, and would not take the property beyond its current C energy efficiency rating.

In response to a Member’s query, the Corporate Head of Housing confirmed that the other three IRLs in the borough not discussed at the previous two Housing Committees all had storage heaters, whilst due to the need to go out to tender any fabric first measures were unlikely to be in place by the coming winter.

A Member highlighted that should Committee approve the installation of a gas boiler then offsetting would need to be part of the strategy in order to achieve carbon neutrality, and suggested that the Council’s Environment & Sustainability Committee took this on as a case study to see what measures would be achievable.  The Committee was supportive of this suggestion.

Whilst officers’ initial recommendation was to instal additional fabric measures alongside a new gas boiler, which would primarily be cavity wall and loft insulation, the Committee asked officers to consider whether the amount proposed would be better spent across the entire housing stock.  This would be reported back at the next meeting as part of the Asset Management Plan.

Resolved that:

A.    A new gas boiler would be installed in Floral House to reduce emissions from the scheme and reduce residents’ fuel bills.

B.    A further report would come back to Housing Committee to advise on whether it would be appropriate to expend £95,000 on insulation measures at Floral House or across the whole housing estate.

C.    Refer Environment & Sustainability Committee to carry out a test study on what carbon offsetting measures could be undertaken.