Durham Case Study

Durham County covers a large geographical area and is full of small, remote villages that do not have mains gas and which contain large numbers of properties that have proved difficult and expensive to insulate and improve. Many of the villages are ex-colliery communities and/or ex-limestone quarry areas with older housing styles built during the heyday of these industries to accommodate their workforce.

A large proportion of the housing was constructed pre-1920 and their walls are built without a cavity, i.e. solid. This, by today’s standard, is a very inefficient construction method and must be remedied if the UK is to achieve its 2050 ‘Net Zero emissions’ target. The obvious solution is to insulate the properties externally, however a high percentage of the dwellings are of stone construction and are considered ‘planning sensitive’.

The combination of these attributes thrusts a high percentage of the local population into fuel poverty and reduced living standards through condensation, mould growth and cold. To exacerbate the issue further, the vast majority of this housing is of private tenure following the sale of the properties at discounted prices when the collieries were closed.