Construction firm delivers Tees Valley homes boost

A construction firm has completed energy-efficient upgrades to more than 80 homes across Tees Valley, thanks to a £2.1 million Government-funded retrofit scheme.

Bowburn-based Esh Construction led the project in partnership with Darlington, Hartlepool, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees councils, following the award of Home Upgrade Grant Phase 2 funding to improve homes off the gas grid.

The initiative, which marked Esh Construction’s first retrofit project under the NEPO Retrofit and Decarbonisation Framework, focused on owner-occupied and private rental homes with lower energy performance ratings, providing residents with free upgrades to help futureproof their properties.

Lisa Stafford, head of retrofit solutions at Esh Construction, said: “Our main driver in launching the retrofit division was to support local authorities and social housing providers in decarbonising homes while helping residents to live in a more environmentally-friendly manner.

“We have worked closely with each local authority to identify the properties that met the threshold for home improvements through HUG 2, and seeing the changes made to these homes has been a moment of pride for the Esh team. 

“We hope to continue working with the councils involved on future schemes.”

Each home received tailored improvements such as enhanced ventilation, loft and cavity wall insulation, air source heat pumps, smart heating controls and solar panels. 

The upgrades aim to boost properties to an energy performance rating of C, contributing to England’s fuel poverty targets and the UK’s net-zero goals.

Councillor Ursula Earl, cabinet member for health, welfare and housing at Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, added: “This was an excellent scheme, which is not only good for the environment – which is good for everybody – but has improved 32 homes right here on Redcar and Cleveland and more than 80 across the Tees Valley.

“Those homes are now more energy efficient, which means lower bills for residents and less carbon released into the environment.”

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