Page 23 - Pobl Annual Report FY25

Annual Report 2025 21
Building for the future
Developing the new homes that Wales needs will have a significant carbon impact. Delivering
new homes to meet Welsh Development Quality Requirements (WDQR 2021) and retrofitting our
existing homes to meet the Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS 2023) commits us to:
• establishing a fabric‐first plus renewables approach;
• moving to renewable‐energy‐powered electric heating and hot water systems
such as air and ground source heat pumps;
• including photovoltaic (PV) panels on our new homes to generate renewable electricity
for use in the home and for export to the Grid;
• favouring timber and Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), using locally sourced
timber, local companies and off‐site manufacturing;
• integration of the Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) standard to minimise
surface water run‐off and mitigate the risk of flooding;
• ensuring all new homes and communities are planned to address projected future
flood and coastal erosion risks in line with Technical Advice Note 15, overheating risk,
and other climate change risks;
• planning all new sites to protect extant biodiversity and promote the Net Benefit to
biodiveristy (NBB) approach in place across Wales; and
• active engagement with contractors and suppliers to ensure sustainability and
environmental standards are achieved.
Retrofit of Existing Homes
• Across the Group we installed monitoring systems
to 425 properties and intelligent energy systems
to 60 properties.
• We installed PV & battery to 19 homes as part of an
enhanced roofing replacement programme.
• We installed PV solar panels and batteries in two
schemes, using a collaborative system to allow all
residents to benefit equitably from the system.
One of the schemes moved from EPC C to EPC A
following the installations.
• Our ‘tough to treat’ retrofit project began looking at
improving energy efficiency on our worst performing
properties is ongoing. We have seen properties move
from a SAP score of F32 to B85 as a result.