Leading manufacturer and distributor of external wall insulation (EWI), Wetherby Building Systems is celebrating the completion of EWI being installed on 2,000 homes within the Kirkby regeneration project.
The £15.5m scheme has seen 2,000 homes in Kirkby, Merseyside, installed with energy saving measures, including EWI, loft insulation and economic boilers. The regeneration scheme was initiated by Wetherby to provide private homeowners with energy saving systems in order to reduce their energy bills.
Project managers, Wetherby worked alongside Knowsley Council in order to fulfil the programme, with funding derived from a variety of energy companies.
The project was divided into two phases, phase one was conducted under the Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP), operating from March 2012 to December 2012, which saw approximately 1,700 properties benefit from the scheme.
CESP, which ended in December 2012, was extended to those energy companies who failed to reach their carbon saving goals, resulting in further funding becoming available for the regeneration project in Kirkby. The mitigating scheme was carried out from January 2013 to April 2013, which saw the remaining 300 properties gain from the energy saving initiatives.
Knowsley Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Economy and Skills, Cllr Dave Lonergan, said: “CESP is an excellent initiative which is bringing real benefits to residents and the environment. In Knowsley, we are keen to explore different methods of reducing the borough’s carbon emissions and working with Wetherby Building Systems on the CESP scheme was a really effective way of doing that.”
Wetherby approved contractors, Hamilton Building Contractors and Sustainable Building Services carried out the installations, overcoming the appalling UK weather conditions and completing the installations on time.
The EWI system, applied to the 2,000 homes in Kirkby, incorporated Kingspan K5 phenolic insulation. A process which offers excellent thermal properties and with a thickness of 60mm, it is the ideal application for when space is limited.
A dry dash finish, sometimes known as pebbledash, was applied to the phenolic insulation boards to ensure a clean and attractive finish to the properties. Wetherby offered residents four colour options to ensure a uniform appearance to the community.
Barrie Stanley, project funding manager at Wetherby, comments: “This is a momentous occasion for everyone involved in the regeneration scheme and it is fantastic to see that 2,000 homes in Kirkby have already benefited from this programme in the past 12 months.
“Installing our external wall insulation will not only see 2,000 households save substantial money on their energy bills, but it has also improved the aesthetic appearance of the properties, creating an attractive living environment for the entire community.”
Phase three of the regeneration project will begin in July 2013 and conclude in September 2013, with a further 350 houses in Kirkby expected to undergo the beneficial energy saving initiatives.
Wetherby Building Systems Ltd is the UK’s market leader in the manufacture and distribution of a wide range of external wall insulation (EWI) systems, polymer modified renders, silicone & acrylic thin-coat renders & brick slip systems for the retrofit market. Wetherby’s insulated render systems offer environmentally sympathetic external façade solutions that have been successfully installed on many domestic refurbishment projects, new build schemes, commercial buildings and educational establishments for over 20 years.
