Arbour Housing is investing over £8 million in sustainable improvements to 600 homes in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area.
The tenants living in the housing association’s older housing stock in the borough area will benefit from heating upgrades, window and door improvements and solar panel installation, enabled by a first of its kind support from Ulster Bank.
Arbour Housing is one of the first housing associations in Northern Ireland to avail of a £5m Housing Green Retrofit loan from Ulster Bank, backed by a guarantee from the National Wealth Fund (NWF), and the first facility of its type to be completed within Ulster Bank’s parent group NatWest.
It forms part of a £500 million lending initiative by NatWest Group that is backed by a financial guarantee of up to £400 million by the NWF to accelerate energy efficiency upgrades in UK social housing.
Welcoming the investment, Will Chambré, Chair of Arbour Housing, said: “I am extremely proud that Arbour Housing is taking the lead by making a significant investment to demonstrate our commitment to helping meet Northern Ireland’s climate change targets and providing our tenants with quality homes.
“By improving the energy efficiency of our homes, we are helping our tenants to live more comfortably and sustainably, sharing the benefits of lower energy costs and reduced carbon emissions across our communities, and growing a housing stock that is fit for the future.
“We are grateful for the expert and dedicated support from Ulster Bank in helping Arbour Housing to deliver a project that adds real, social, environmental and long-term value.”
Kenton Hilman, Head of Corporate Banking at Ulster Bank, added: “We are very pleased to support Arbour Housing with this important investment. This demonstrates how government-backed guarantees and private investment can work together to reduce the cost of decarbonisation, deliver meaningful environmental and social impact, supporting a greener future for communities across Northern Ireland”.
Ollie Hughes, Northern Ireland Director of Banking and Investments for the National Wealth Fund, said: “By supporting NatWest’s £500 million lending initiative, we’re helping to accelerate vital investment into the social housing retrofit sector.
“This loan is a great example, helping Arbour Housing to provide communities in Northern Ireland with warmer and more eco-friendly homes.”
Arbour Housing is a community-based housing association in Northern Ireland, playing a central role in providing quality social housing and supporting sustainable communities.
NatWest Group has also announced an updated package of £10 billion of funding to the UK social housing sector before the end of 2028, which when deployed will bring the total funding to social housing in the UK from the Group to over £35 billion* since 2018.
