Story: Rohan Francis
A recent Council project to renovate rundown houses in Page Hall opened its doors to residents in November.
The project aims to demonstrate new ways to improve the quality and energy efficiency of the area’s Victorian terraces. However, the high cost of materials and construction could make the scheme too expensive for many local families to carry out for themselves.
After winning their fight against plans for demolition in 2005, residents face the problem of how to maintain and improve their homes, many of which are around 100 years old and can suffer from a range of problems, including poor insulation. Added to this, rising fuel bills mean home-owners and tenants also have to consider ways to cut their energy use.
The Council project used government funding to purchase 32 empty properties in Page Hall. 28 of these will be brought up to a ‘decent’ standard with limited refurbishment and then sold. The remaining four are ‘showcase refurbishments’ – the ‘Eco Terrace’ which features solar roof panels, high-tech thermal insulation and a heat-exchange unit and ‘Twice the Terrace’ which knocks two houses into one spacious five-bed home. The ‘21st Century Terrace’ which is designed to appeal to a young couple who want a property with the features of a city centre loft apartment, will be completed in the next few months.
Modern technologies have been used to improve the buildings’ energy efficiency and design. The ‘Eco Terrace’, for example, uses a high-tech fibre insulation to line its single brick walls. This surprisingly thin product claims to provide heat insulation without dramatically reducing room size. At the same time the building has also been carefully ‘sealed’ to prevent loss of heat through draughts. Its solar panels will collect heat and energy from the sun, while a heat-exchange unit recycles warmth from the kitchen and bathroom and delivers it to the ‘cooler’ areas of the house. Testing carried out before and after renovation work revealed the building’s energy efficiency had increased from an E to a B rating.
The scheme originally aimed to refurbish each terrace at a cost of £50,000; however, costs rose considerably when unexpected problems were encountered during the building programme such as under-sized roof joists, poor brickwork and structural problems.
The ‘Eco Terrace’ is currently valued at £80,000 and ‘Twice the Terrace’ at £130,000. They will go on sale in January 2010 – residents affected by the demolition of Skinnerthorpe and Bagley Roads will be offered first refusal until that date. Money from the sale of all the refurbished properties in Page Hall will be ploughed back into local housing projects.
Page Hall’s recent renovation project proves that terrace houses can be transformed into modern and efficient homes, although at a higher cost than newer housing – over double the cost of standard alternatives in the case of wall insulation. With very few loans or grants available to individuals for such expensive measures, the Council’s plan to “kick-start the regeneration of housing in the area” will fall to those with substantial personal funds.
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