Lovell Renew kickstarts second year of £58m social housing retrofit programme

Refurbishment and retrofit specialist Lovell Renew has officially commenced the second year of its three-year Midlands retrofit partnership programme with social housing provider Amplius.

As part of the £58m Wave 3 Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund programme, the contract will provide extensive energy-efficiency improvements to homes across Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire and Peterborough.

Following a first year that saw 713 homes upgraded in 2025/2026, the partnership is now scaling up operations, to complete 750 in year two, 750 in year three and a further award of additionality to complete circa 1,500 additional properties within the same period.

In total, the Wave 3 programme aims to improve more than 3,700 properties across Amplius' portfolio by March 2028. Working with Amplius, Lovell will also be improving approximately 250 more homes with solar PV and battery installations taking it to almost 4000 upgraded properties. 

Matt Hickman, refurbishment partnerships director at Lovell Renew, said: "Reaching the start of year two in our Wave 3 programme is a fantastic milestone for our team and our longstanding partners at Amplius Living. The application for funding to complete a further 1,800 homes also showcases the confidence in the partnership and our ability to deliver people-focused retrofit at scale and pace.  

"Having set high standards during Wave 2, we're proud to build on that foundation and continue delivering high-quality, resident-focused decarbonisation across Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, and Peterborough. 

"We also understand that retrofit is about far more than lowering carbon emissions, focusing on how we can improve people's lives, tackle fuel poverty and make homes warmer and healthier. "

The Wave 3 programme builds on the completion of the earlier £15m Wave 2 contract, where Lovell Renew upgraded 260 properties in 2024/2025 installing more than 3,000 energy measures. 

Homes are benefiting from a suite of measures including external and internal wall insulation, loft insulation, high-efficiency windows and doors, solar PV, air source heat pumps and AICO environmental monitoring sensors.  

Fallon Warren, head of asset optimisation, sustainability and commercial facilities at Amplius, said: "What makes this partnership so successful is our shared vision and passion for delivering retrofit the right way – not simply installing energy efficiency measures - but creating safer, healthier and more affordable homes while putting our customers at the heart of every decision we make.

"Together, we've developed a collaborative approach that focuses on quality, resident engagement and long-term outcomes, ensuring customers are supported throughout their retrofit journey. 

"As we significantly increase delivery over the coming two years, we're confident that by continuing to work together we can improve thousands more homes, reduce fuel poverty, lower carbon emissions and leave a lasting positive impact on the communities we serve."