North Yorkshire Council
Report to Assistant Director of Resources, Community Development
1 June 2026
Request to accept funding from the City of York Council to deliver the
Retrofit Energy Efficiency and Indoor Air Quality Demonstrator Project
Report of the Assistant Director, Housing
1.0 PURPOSE OF REPORT
1.1 The Corporate Director Resources sub delegated to the Assistant Director of Resources notes that City of York Council applied to the Carbon Negative Challenge Fund for the “Retrofit Energy Efficiency and Indoor Air Quality Demonstrator Project” and that North Yorkshire Council was identified as a delivery organisation.
1.2 That the Corporate Director Resources sub delegated to the Assistant Director of Resources authorises the acceptance of the Grant Funding for the sum of £223,000 from the City of York Council, from the Carbon Negative Challenge Fund, to deliver the Retrofit Energy Efficiency and Indoor Air Quality Demonstrator Project.
2.0 BACKGROUND
2.1 The Carbon Negative Challenge Fund (CNCF) was launched by the Mayor and the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority (YNYMCA) in 2025. Through the Mayoral Investment Funds, the CNCF allocation is focused on supporting regional decarbonisation and seeks to follow on from the previous £7million funding allocated through the Net Zero Devolution Deal, albeit through a competitive bidding process.
2.2 The Mayoral Investment Fund CNCF seeks to support the development and delivery of projects that can help York and North Yorkshire become England’s first carbon negative
region. The goal is for projects to be innovative, look to trial new technology, be a
demonstrator that others can replicate or to support projects that will enable systems
change across the region. It is not focused on passporting funding to the Local Authorities
and instead, is seeking applications from all organisations in the region who have projects with a community, business or regional focus.
2.3 North Yorkshire Council applied for funding from the Carbon Negative Challenge Fund and submitted this report:
2.4 The City of York Council (CYC) applied for the funding for the Retrofit Energy Efficiency and Indoor Air Quality Demonstrator Project, and North Yorkshire Council are a delivery partner, along with the University of Birmingham. The total value of the funding is £420,953, with £223,000 to be paid to North Yorkshire Council, and £80,718 to be paid to the University of Birmingham.
3.0 RETROFIT ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND INDOOR AIR QUALITY DEMONSTRATOR PROJECT
3.1 This project is being led by City of York Council and supported by North Yorkshire Council and the University of Birmingham. It builds directly on retrofit activity that is carried out through the Warm Homes Local Grant. This project introduces a critical pre- and post-installation monitoring component to assess the impact of those measures on indoor air quality and occupant health.
3.2 The project runs from April 2026 to 31 December 2027.
3.3 The project will seek to recruit 200 homes to participate. This will comprise:
· 100 homes who will receive air quality monitors before and after being provided with energy efficiency and retrofit measures under the Warm Homes Local Grant Funding (74 recipients of NYC Warm Homes Local Grant). 50 of these homes will receive a cooker to replace existing gas cookers (37 recipients).
· 100 homes who have not been provided with retrofit measures or energy efficiency advice, as a control group (74 in NYC area).
4.0 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
4.1 The Warm Homes Local Grant funding will be delivered alongside this project, recognising the complementary nature of the two funding streams. CNCF has confirmed that no formal match funding contribution is required, as both programmes support aligned outcomes and can operate in parallel.
4.2 The project will provide total funding of £223,000 to North Yorkshire Council. The project comprises both capital and revenue elements. Capital funding relates to the purchase and installation of cookers, while revenue funding supports staffing and participant incentives required to deliver the project. This cost includes:
· The purchase and installation of 37 cookers
· 1.5 FTE staff member for NYC
· 150 x £50 incentive payments for participants to be involved in the research.
4.3 The project has been designed to operate within the allocated funding. Any risk of overspend will be managed through scaling of discretionary elements, such as participant incentives or activity levels, to ensure that costs do not fall to the Council.
5.0 LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
5.1 The YNYCA have issued a draft grant funding agreement template outlining the legal arrangements and delivery this is being reviewed by Legal Services. Expenditure of the grant will be in line with the Subsidy Control Act 2022.
6.0 ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED
6.1 The alternative option is to do nothing.
7.0 EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS
7.1 An EIA screening has been completed and identified that there are no equalities concerns with the proposed project. See Appendix A.
8.0 CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS
8.1 This project will be delivered alongside the Warm Homes Local Grant project that will install retrofit measures on private sector homes. A Climate Change Impact Assessment was completed as part of this process. Therefore, a screening form has been appended to this report. See Appendix B.
9.0 REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS
9.1 Authorisation to accept funding from the City of York Council is recommended because:
· It is an innovative project that helps to determine whether there are any unintended health consequences of retrofitting homes in York and North Yorkshire.
· It provides an opportunity to work with the City of York Council.
· It is fully funded by the Carbon Negative Challenge Fund.
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10.0 |
RECOMMENDATION
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i) That the Corporate Director Resources, sub delegated to Assistant Director Resources authorises the acceptance of the Grant Funding of £223,000 from the City of York Council, from the Carbon Negative Challenge Fund, to deliver the Retrofit Energy Efficiency and Indoor Air Quality Demonstrator Project.
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APPENDICES:
Appendix A: Equalities Impact Assessment
Appendix B: Climate Change Impact Assessment
BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS:
None
Nic Harne
Corporate Director
Community Development
County Hall
Northallerton
8 May 2026
Presenter and Report Author – Hannah Nutsey, Climate Change Business Partner