Nottingham City Homes has undertaken an Impact Study of its Decent Homes retrofit scheme (called Safe, Warm, Modern) in partnership with Nottingham Business School.
The study quantifies the benefits of home improvements for security and safety, physical and mental health, sustainability, fuel poverty, and employment.
The renovations consisted of a mixture of installations, including ‘Secured by Design’ double glazed windows, modern central heating, and loft insulation, as well as bathroom and kitchen renovations, and other measures to improve the safety of the homes (e.g. installing slip resistant floors).
Started in 2008, the programme is investing £187m to bring all the housing association’s 28,300 homes above the Decent Homes standard by 2015.
The secure windows installed not only reduced the number of burglaries, but also reduced the fear of crime, with residents now feeling safer at home, the survey indicated.
Aspley, a former burglary hotspot, has seen its number of burglaries reduced by 42% between 2007 and 2010, with a 50% decrease in burglaries via a window.
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