APPENDIX 9: VISIT TO THE FLAGSHIP HOME,
KNIGHTSBRIDGE
8 February 2005
Members visiting the Flagship House were: Lord Broers,
Earl of Lindsay, Lord Oxburgh, Baroness Perry of Southwark (Chairman),
Baroness Sharp of Guildford, Lord Wade of Chorlton, Lord Young
of Graffham. In attendance: Professor Roland Clift (Specialist
Adviser), Dr Christopher Johnson (Clerk), Dr Jonathan Radcliffe
(Specialist Assistant).
The Committee was welcomed by Matthew Knight of the
Energy Saving Trust. Members toured the Home, a privately owned,
nineteenth century terraced building located in a conservation
area. When the refurbishment was complete it would contain nineteen
flats, many of them bedsits. Each had a shower room, but lavatories
were shared (the existence of shared facilities meant that the
property qualified as a house in multiple occupation).
The bulk of funding for the refurbishment came from
the developer, but the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
had contributed £90,000 (a figure in line with normal grant
funding for such projects) and the Energy Saving Trust had also
contributed. Four of the units would be made available as "affordable
housing" (i.e. at two thirds of normal market rent) for five
years.
The building had been lined throughout with 35mm
plaster-board to improve insulation. Double glazed sash windows
had been fitted at the back of the property, but English Heritage
had not allowed replacement of the windows at the front, so secondary
glazing had been fitted instead. A timber-framed extension had
been added at the top of the house, which would generate additional
rental income. On the roof German-made solar collectors, installed
at a cost of £20,000, would meet 50-60 percent of the building's
hot water needs, and would be backed up by two condensing boilers.
Dedicated fittings for low-energy lighting had been installed,
and all appliances were A-rated. Ventilation was crucial: air
from cooker extractor hoods (running constantly at low speed)
would be filtered and passed through a heat exchanger in order
to warm incoming air.
It was intended that the refurbishment would be a
demonstration of the some of the options available for similar
refurbishments. However, it was not expected that the entire project
would be replicated. It was confirmed that the Council had made
no calculation of the payback time on the various energy efficiency
measures—this was a matter for the owner. However, as the
building had been in a poor state, requiring complete refurbishment
anyway, the additional marginal cost of the energy efficiency
measures was relatively small. In use, residents would be metered
and billed for electricity consumption; however, hot water and
heating would be included in the rent.
|
