Landlords turn out for retrofit information evening

The district’s landlords have been finding out about the benefits of ‘eco-refurbishment’ at an information event hosted by Harrogate College.

Retrofit for Landlords, run in partnership with Harrogate District Climate Change Coalition, took place on Wednesday 2 November.

Seventeen local landlords heard from expert guest speakers about how they could go about retrofitting their properties, thereby cutting tenants’ energy bills while reducing carbon emissions.

The speakers included Mike Kaye from Energy Oasis, Sarah Stark and Emma Wade from Harrogate Borough Council, Erin Wheeler from York and North Yorkshire Enterprise Partnership (LEP), and John Kerr from Zero Carbon Harrogate.

Supporting action on climate change

Harrogate College’s Principal, Danny Wild, said: “We were delighted to team up with Harrogate District Climate Change Coalition to hold this information evening.

“Improving the efficiency of our district’s rented properties is a crucial part of the wider push towards sustainability, so it was encouraging to see such a good turnout.

“Guests also had lots of questions for the speakers about how they could develop their properties to help support their tenants.

“As a college, we are committed to reducing our own carbon emissions while delivering the green skills training our economy needs. We are only too pleased to work with local landlords, businesses and forward-thinking organisations on initiatives like this which will be vital in our efforts to slow climate change.”

Subjects covered on the night included: a Net-Zero Toolkit, how landlords can access free energy-efficiency training, details on a new local grant to support retrofit projects, and a look at some successful retrofitting schemes.