The Great British Energy Community Fund - Case study

Communities are coming together across the UK to tackle the problem of retrofit - aiming to help residents decarbonise and future proof their homes whilst also improving local skills shortages.

At People Powered Retrofit, we’ve been proud to support these efforts in various projects, and are particularly pleased to share a bit more on two Community Energy Fund feasibility studies we have just completed: One in Letchworth Garden City and the other alongside Dorset Community Energy (DCE).

The Great British Energy Community Fund is backing local energy with real investment. Initially launched in 2023 with £10 million, the government has just added another £5 million to support community-led energy initiatives.

The fund is designed to get projects off the ground - from small-scale wind farms and rooftop solar to battery storage, rural heat networks, EV charging points and fuel poverty relief. Crucially, all projects must be proposed, designed, and owned by the local community. Below examples funded under the ‘Type B’ stream - which supports energy efficiency and advice initiatives - show how grassroots ideas are turning into real impact.

Though the two community groups are separated by more than 150 miles, with different housing archetypes, histories and priorities for their residents, the goal for the two was largely the same: to understand whether a local retrofit service was wanted and needed to help residents take decisive action on their homes.

For both projects, we were able to draw on our experiences of both building these services in Manchester and working with other established organisations. We offered a combination of mentoring, business planning support, technical advice, resident engagement guidance and access to our home retrofit planner tool. While our role was to share our knowledge, we also gained a deeper understanding into the priorities and needs of residents in different communities to ours in Manchester.

Continue reading to learn more about Letchworth Garden City and Dorset Community Energy feasibility projects.

Letchworth Garden City is known for its rich design legacy and carefully preserved character - but like many places, it now faces the challenge of preparing its housing for a low carbon future. More than half of homes in the area have an EPC rating of D or below and around 7,000 dwellings are in need of energy upgrades. Improving these homes to EPC C could save nearly £2.5 million annually in energy bills and cut almost 5,000 tonnes of carbon emissions each year.

In response, Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation (LGCHF) launched a project supported by the Community Energy Fund to explore how to improve energy efficiency in traditionally built homes while remaining sensitive to the town’s unique architecture. As a Community Benefit Society and long standing steward of the town’s character, LGCHF is uniquely placed to support residents through this transition.

The project was built on LGCHF’s free Heritage Advice Service, which already supports residents in navigating the external changes allowed under Letchworth’s Design Principles. The Foundation was (and is) working to expand that offer with clear, practical guidance on how traditionally built homes can be retrofitted - focusing on improvements to building fabric and ventilation.

It explored the balance between the desire to preserve the unique heritage and history of the world’s first Garden City with the need to improve housing and tackle energy efficiency in a context where municipal government, residents and environmental advocates all have a keen interest.

We used engagement approaches such as home retrofit parties and public awareness raising presentations combined with retrofit assessments using People Powered Retrofit’s Home Retrofit Planner tool to tease out these debates and discussions, generating technical insight and actionable recommendations that can inform the development of retrofit services in the town and inform policy making and planning guidance.

Listening to the community

A key challenge is that, without direct government subsidy, many homeowners and landlords find it hard to justify retrofit investment on payback terms alone. Consequently, another aspect of the project focused on identifying and evaluating potential financial models that could support uptake among the able-to-pay market.

This work lays vital groundwork for helping Letchworth adapt its celebrated housing stock to the demands of the future - without compromising on its heritage. Perhaps it opens up new possibilities for how traditionally built homes can be upgraded sensitively and affordably and highlights the role that local organisations can play in shaping a fairer future.

How we helped: technical expertise and insight, use of Home Retrofit Planner to inform guidance, commentary on the area’s design principles in relation to retrofit, engagement through Home Retrofit Parties and business planning advice.

Dorset’s housing stock tells a complex story. It’s mostly two-thirds owner-occupied, older than average, and underperforming when it comes to energy efficiency. Only a third of homes reach EPC C or above - the minimum standard expected by future regulations - and many are difficult and costly to heat. While there’s support available for households on lower incomes, there’s a clear gap in provision for the majority of homeowners who want to retrofit but don’t know where to start.

Addressing this gap isn’t just a technical challenge; It’s also about trust, skills, access to finance and navigating a complex market. That’s where the idea of a One Stop Shop comes in: a service that can bring together advice, coordination, design and delivery into a single, community rooted offer.

The study focused on what a Dorset-specific version of a retrofit ‘hub’ could look like. Early ideas included:

• Neighbourhood-based delivery (like street-by-street or estate-wide approaches)
• Integration with local renewable energy and housing initiatives
• Training for the local workforce and young people
• Encouraging the use of sustainable, low-carbon materials
• A cooperative ownership model involving key local partners

Over the course of the project, these ideas were tested through public engagement, stakeholder input, surveys and business modelling. These engagement activities painted a broad and interesting picture of the potential clients in Dorset’s area. Surveys showed that residents were motivated to retrofit for reasons that included not just making homes more comfortable, but also for decarbonisation purposes, but were concerned about cost and access to trusted sources of advice - a recurrent theme we’ve witnessed in many similar projects in different localities.

The research grounded Dorset in its context and illustrated clearly what could work and was needed now in Dorset - and what should come next.

Key priorities identified

3 core paths emerged as the most viable and valuable areas for early development:

• A home assessment, design and coordination service, helping homeowners understand their options and plan improvements
• A cooperative DIY model, giving people the tools, knowledge and support to retrofit homes together
• A social enterprise construction programme, focused on retrofitting empty properties and training the next generation of retrofit professionals

These ideas respond directly to local needs - building trust, cutting costs, and addressing the shortage of skilled workers in the sector.

Initial market research suggests at least 4,000 homeowners in Dorset would be ready to engage with retrofit services, based on current interest and national trends. However, cross-subsidising homeowner services with existing funding for low-income households isn’t practical at this stage, as that space is already well served by other organisations. This makes a strong case for new funding models and partnerships, including public sector support.

Next steps

DCE are continuing their work to develop their model, incorporating insights from this study to produce a service that is sustainable and valuable to residents. As more concrete actions become available, we will look forward to sharing them!

How we helped: PPR provided mentoring support, user engagement research to help build a research plan and carry out research and business model development. PPR also supported 3 pilot house archetype assessments, using the Home Retrofit Planner software. These archetype archetypes can then help others in similar house types to start thinking about a suitable retrofit approach.

From Dorset to Letchworth, communities are showing that climate action can be rooted in local context without losing sight of trust or identity. In the above feasibility studies backed by the Community Energy Fund, People Powered Retrofit collaborated with Dorset Community Energy and Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation to explore what effective, community-led retrofit could look like. These projects aren’t just about insulation or heat pumps - they’re about reimagining who drives change and proving that when local organisations lead - climate solutions become more grounded, more human and more likely to last.