SALIX HOMES TENANTS TO JOIN FIRST TENANTS’ CLIMATE JURY

Social housing tenants in Salford are being invited to join a first of its kind Tenants’ Climate Jury launched by Salix Homes and the Northern Housing Consortium.

The Social Housing Tenants’ Climate Jury will be made up of 30 tenants from Salford-based housing provider Salix Homes and four other northern housing associations: First Choice Homes, Karbon Homes, Thirteen Group, and Yorkshire Housing to consider how residents, social landlords and others can work together to tackle climate change in social housing.

The project is being led by the Northern Housing Consortium which represents the views of housing organisations in the North of England.

In particular, the jury will look at retrofitting energy efficiency measures to understand tenants’ preferences on how this work should be undertaken in their homes.

Retrofitting existing homes is a key priority for the social housing sector, and it is important tenants are involved in how homes can be made more energy efficient as part of the sector’s contribution to fighting climate change.

Retrofitting measures could involve making a home easier to heat with insulation or upgrading a heating system in order to make homes greener and warmer. 

Anne-Marie Bancroft, customer engagement manager at Salix Homes, said:

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“The housing sector has a key role to play in tackling climate change, and as an organisation we’re committed to cutting our own carbon footprint and ensuring our tenants have access to high quality homes that are safe, warm and energy efficient.

“We’re strong advocates for the importance of listening to tenants’ views and opinions, so we’re incredibly proud to be part of the first ever Tenant’s Climate Jury, which will ensure residents are at the front and centre of any refurbishment and retrofitting programmes, which will affect their homes, and ultimately ensure the sustainability of our housing stock.”

 

The initiative is being facilitated by Shared Future - one of the UK’s leading experts in organising citizens’ juries.

Salix Homes is sending out 1,500 letters to its residents inviting them to take part in the initiative. Of those who register to take part, Shared Future will then select six people from each housing association who reflect the diversity of residents living within social housing, both in terms of demographic make-up and their opinions on climate change. 

The Tenants’ Jury will meet 10 times over the summer for 30 hours’ worth of deliberation. They will listen to, and question invited expert speakers, discuss issues with each other, and will work together alongside expert facilitators to develop recommendations that will put forward their preferences, as social housing residents, as to how tenants, social housing providers, and others can work together to tackle climate change in our homes and neighbourhoods.

The final report and recommendations of the Social Housing Tenants’ Climate Jury will be launched at the Northern Housing Consortium’s flagship Northern Housing Summit in November.

Follow the Jury’s progress on the Northern Housing Consortium’s website: https://www.northern-consortium.org.uk/