Mi-space Secures Place on £10bn Initiative to Make London Homes Net Zero Carbon by 2030

Posted by Construction Industry News Magazine on 7th June 2021 -

To assist the transformation of ageing and energy-inefficient housing in London, Property services specialist Mi-space has been appointed to a ten-year £10bn drive to help the capital cut carbon emissions and achieve zero carbon by 2030. The Greater London Authority (GLA) Retrofit Accelerator for Homes initiative was launched by the Mayor of London to tackle the climate emergency and reduce energy bills, through insulation and the installation of low carbon heat and power solutions across London’s social housing stock.

Mi-space, part of the Midas Group, is one of five firms chosen to develop innovative solutions, put these into practice on major retrofit projects and help commercialise the technology so it can be rolled out across the capital and potentially nationwide.

With many social housing providers committing to achieving carbon zero by 2030, the Retrofit Accelerator has attracted the interest of other local authorities and housing associations across the UK, with Nottingham City Council already signed up as a partner and Bristol City Council and other major stakeholders showing a strong interest in participating in the initiative in the coming years.

The aim is to provide London’s boroughs and housing associations, as well as partners nationally, with the technical expertise and solutions needed to deliver ‘whole-house’ retrofit projects across their properties. This approach upgrades existing homes with everything they need to be future-proofed, such as high-spec insulation, renewable heating systems and solar panels fitted at the same time to radically reduce a home’s energy use and bills as well as its carbon footprint. 

The challenge has been how to do this cost-effectively on a large scale, so the focus of the Retrofit Accelerator is to encourage innovation in technology, products, supply chain and economies of scale, not only for social housing but to also bring these ‘deep retrofits’ within the reach of private homeowners, for whom the net zero deadline is 2050.

It is a perfect fit for Mi-space, which has worked with local authorities and housing associations in England and Wales over many years, supporting them on planned housing improvements, property maintenance and retro-fitting projects. As well as amassing considerable in-house expertise, Mi-space works with industry leading consultants and academics in designing, delivering and monitoring retro-fit solutions.

AJ Eaton, Director of Mi-space, said: “Mi-space is delighted and very proud to be at the heart of this pioneering initiative and to be helping lead a revolution in how we future-proof homes across the country in response to the challenges of climate change, tackling fuel poverty and achieving zero carbon by 2030.

“Mi-space has been an early innovator in this sector and we have considerable experience in providing low carbon retro-fitting solutions on a wide range of properties. This project allows us to contribute our expertise to what is a very significant project which will shape how London, the wider UK and the construction sector responds to the huge challenge we face in making our existing homes fit for a zero carbon future.”

Midas is one of the UK’s largest independent construction and property services providers delivering projects for customers across a range of sectors including education, residential, commercial and retail developments, and has offices throughout the South West, South East and Wales.

The company’s strategy is to be the contractor of choice in the areas in which it operates, through development of long-term relationships via delivery of its vision to be ‘leaders in customer service and performance’. It is a strategy which is already showing success with more than 80% of the Group’s projects being carried out on a repeat business basis.