Case study · Aspire Housing, Newcastle under Lyme and Staffordshire
Every home upgraded in the first year reached EPC band C.
Fabric first, tenants at home.
In 2023, Miles Sharples led an insulation and heating retrofit project for Aspire Housing across Newcastle under Lyme and the wider Staffordshire area, upgrading occupied social housing with heating and hot water, ventilation, windows and doors and loft insulation. Every home was assessed and coordinated to PAS 2035, and every home upgraded in the first year moved from band D or E to band C. Miles is now Managing Director of Energy Giants, and the same approach is how our retrofit programmes are run today.
The numbers from the programme
2023
When it ran
Whole house retrofit across Aspire Housing’s stock in Newcastle under Lyme and Staffordshire.1
Band C
Every home upgraded in the first year
From bands D and E. The Warm Homes threshold, reached on every property completed in the first year.2
£1,200
Up to, saved per home each year
Estimated saving on tenant energy bills after the measures. Estimates vary with the property, how it is used and the tariff.2, 3
4,000kWh
Up to, saved per home each year
Estimated annual energy saving per home from the package of measures, based on projected usage.2
Before and after
Homes below band C, heated by ageing systems. Then band C.
Across Aspire Housing’s stock in Staffordshire, older heating systems and poor thermal performance were leaving tenants with homes that were harder and more expensive to heat. The goal was simple to state and hard to deliver: lift every home to EPC band C, cut bills, tackle fuel poverty, and do it with minimal disruption to the people living there.
Before
Heating
Electric storage and panel heaters well past their best, expensive to run and slow to respond, with hot water from ageing immersion cylinders.
Fabric
Single glazed or failed double glazed windows and doors, and loft insulation below current standards, so heat left as fast as it was paid for.
Air
Little or no controlled ventilation, so condensation, damp and mould followed any attempt to keep heat in.
Rating
EPC bands D and E, below the Warm Homes threshold.
After
Heating and hot water
Modern electric storage heaters, downflow heaters and immersion cylinders, sized to each home and controllable.
Fabric
Replacement double glazed windows and external doors, and loft insulation brought up to current standards, fabric first.
Air
A full ventilation upgrade including decentralised mechanical extract ventilation (dMEV), protecting air quality and controlling condensation and damp. A particular priority for Aspire.
Rating
EPC band C on every home upgraded in year one, with LED lighting and safety improvements thrown in.2
One home, the whole house approach
Fabric first, then the heating.
Every home got its own package. Here is one example, with the heat loss shrinking as the loft, windows and doors are done, before the heating, hot water and lighting are replaced.
The work
Assessed and coordinated in house. One point of accountability.
The retrofit assessments and the retrofit coordination were done in house rather than bought in, and that is still how our programmes are run. Every home got its own PAS 2035 assessment and a tailored package of measures, designed around that property and aligned with the funding scheme, so nothing is installed that the home does not need and nothing the funding requires is missed.
From there we coordinate the surveys, the installation teams and every trade on the job, from heating engineers to window fitters to the ventilation crews, through a single point of contact for Aspire. The measures are sequenced so the fabric goes right before the heating is sized, and so a tenant is not visited five times when twice will do.
These are occupied homes. Clear communication, dates in writing, careful scheduling and a resident first approach keep disruption to a minimum, and TrustMark and PAS 2035 compliance runs through inspection, certification and handover at every stage. Miles Sharples led the project.
The measures
- Heating and hot water. Modern electric storage heaters, downflow heaters and immersion cylinders replacing outdated, inefficient systems.
- Ventilation upgrade. A full upgrade to every home, including dMEV, improving air quality and protecting against condensation and damp.
- Windows and doors. Replacement double glazed windows and external doors for warmth, comfort and airtightness.
- Loft insulation and lighting. Loft insulation upgraded to current standards as part of a fabric first approach, with LED lighting and safety improvements.
The programme
A housing association, a government fund, and a band C target.
The client is Aspire Housing, a housing provider, property developer and place shaper based in Newcastle under Lyme. It owns and manages more than 9,500 homes and supports over 19,000 customers across Staffordshire and Cheshire, and describes its model as profit to purpose: surpluses go back into homes and communities.3
The programme is funded through the government’s Warm Homes programme. The Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund, run by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, pays to bring social housing below EPC band C up to that standard, with £1.29 billion committed to its third wave and grant funding to be spent by 31 March 2028.4 That funding deadline is why every home on a scheme like this has to reach band C rather than simply get a little better.
It is the kind of programme where the retrofit coordination matters as much as the installation. Get the assessment wrong and the funding is at risk; get the sequencing wrong and the tenant lives with the consequences. Doing both in house is the point.
Delivered for Aspire Housing through the government’s Warm Homes programme in 2023. Project reference EG068.
What is being delivered
The specification.
| Client | Aspire Housing, Newcastle under Lyme, Staffordshire |
|---|---|
| Programme | Whole house retrofit of social housing across Newcastle under Lyme and the wider Staffordshire area. Programme reference EG0681 |
| Funding | Government Warm Homes programme (Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund)4 |
| Our role | Principal delivery partner: retrofit assessment and retrofit coordination in house, surveys, installation teams and all trades coordinated from a single point of accountability |
| Measures | Electric storage heaters, downflow heaters and immersion cylinders; full ventilation upgrade including dMEV; replacement double glazed windows and external doors; loft insulation to current standards; LED lighting and safety improvements |
| Approach | Fabric first, whole house, each property assessed holistically with a tailored package of measures |
| Standards | PAS 2035 and TrustMark, with inspection, certification and handover at every stage |
| Target | EPC band C on every home, from bands D and E |
| Working conditions | Occupied social housing, residents at home throughout |
| Project lead | Miles Sharples, now Managing Director of Energy Giants |
| When | 20231 |
- Step oneAssess
Every home got its own PAS 2035 retrofit assessment, done in house.
- Step twoDesign and coordinate
A tailored package per property, aligned with the funding, sequenced fabric first by our retrofit coordinator.
- Step threeDeliver
Heating, ventilation, windows, doors and insulation, all trades coordinated, residents told the dates in writing.
- Step fourCertify and hand over
Inspection, certification and the handover file for every home. Band C confirmed.
In our words
Programmes like this are about far more than upgrading buildings. They are about giving tenants warmer, healthier homes that cost less to run. Working with Aspire Housing, the team took a fabric first approach to lift these homes to EPC band C, and the difference to residents’ comfort and energy bills is exactly what makes this work worthwhile. Delivering at this scale, to PAS 2035 standards and with minimal disruption to people’s daily lives, is something the whole team takes real pride in.
Planning a retrofit programme? Talk to the people who assess, coordinate and install.
Housing associations and councils anywhere in the UK: we deliver whole house retrofit from the PAS 2035 assessment through to handover, with our own retrofit coordinators and our own crews, to TrustMark standards. Warm Homes, ECO and SHDF funded programmes, occupied homes, band C targets. We work on programmes for landlords and main contractors and on insulation of every kind.
Notes on the figures
- Programme value, scope, reference and end date are from the programme records. The programme runs to March 2028.
- Year one outcomes are from the delivery records: every home upgraded in the first year reached EPC band C, from bands D and E. Energy and bill savings (up to 4,000 kWh and up to £1,200 per home per year) are estimates based on projected usage and recognised guidance, and vary with the property, how it is used and the electricity tariff. They are not a guarantee.
- Aspire Housing facts (homes owned and managed, customers supported, areas covered, profit to purpose) are as published at aspirehousing.co.uk, read 7 September 2026.
- Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund facts (purpose, the band C standard, wave 3 funding of £1.29 billion and the 31 March 2028 spend deadline) are as published by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero at gov.uk, read 7 September 2026.
- Photographs on this page are illustrative and are not of Aspire Housing properties.