Our Current Projects

Inclusive Community Retrofit

Our homes are responsible for about 20% of the UK’s carbon emissions - and poorly insulated homes also contribute to unacceptable levels of fuel poverty. The current energy crisis is further exacerbating the fuel poverty experienced by low income households across Oxfordshire, with further energy price cap rises forecast from spring 2022 and beyond set to impact upon many more households still.

This impact will leave some households in the private rental sector (PRS) in particular at risk of experiencing critical financial pressures that affect their ability to meet their rental commitments, and may leave them vulnerable to eviction and homelessness.

During early summer 2022, Aspire is undertaking a feasibility study to help inform how we can help build a community and social enterprise response to contribute towards meeting the growing demand for residential property retrofitting in Oxfordshire.

This response would be complementary to any local authority-led efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of the county’s housing stock; it would reinforce the progress made by stakeholders across the county to take wider action on tackling climate change - for example by adopting Bioregional’s One Planet Living framework and Action Plan approach; and with the envisaged social outcomes of addressing fuel poverty, housing security and tackling unemployment, it would also reinforce the growing narrative in Oxfordshire of wishing to bring about a more inclusive local economy, as championed by the Oxfordshire Inclusive Economy Partnership.

Want to know more?

If you would like to find out more about how your organisation could support or partner with us, or to enquire about the learning from this pilot approach please contact Mark.