Case Study: Kettlestone Charities, Little Snoring, Fakenham

This Charity received an Almshouse Association loan of Ā£25,000 towards the cost of insulating the end of the property (bathroom), upgrading the hot water and heating system, and installing solar panels on the south-facing roof.

Clerk, Joanna Otte, has kindly shared the background to the renovations and takes us on their journey to a greener future:

Background

The small village of Kettlestone is fortunate to have two almshouses which provide affordable homes in North Norfolk where many local people are priced-out of the housing market and fewer properties are available for long-term rent.

Both the almshouses are believed to have been instituted during the 18th century for the benefit of the needy within the parish of Kettlestone. One, the Schuldham Almshouse, was established in 1776 by bequest of Francis Schuldham, the then Lord of the Manor. The other, which was originally two dwellings, was bought by the parish and is thought to replace an earlier cottage of about 1736.

The latter, a single storey building, was renovated in 2010 (also with the support of a loan from The Almshouse Association). During that renovation the central wall, with its back-to-back fireplace for the original cottages, was removed to create a comfortable open-plan kitchen and living room with high-level insulation. The bathroom, however was not included at the time as it had only recently been turned into a wet room.

The project plan

Now, over twelve years later, the trustees needed to insulate the bathroom properly. As the occupant was moving to be nearer family, it was agreed that it was an opportune time to upgrade the heating and hot water systems as well as improve the insulation of the bathroom.

Advice was sought from ā€˜Leaping Hareā€™, a local company specialising in energy-efficient products. They suggested:

  • that the old immersion heater (which only heated enough water to fill a quarter of the bathtub) should be replaced with an energy efficient hot water system
  • the night storage heating should be replaced with more efficient infrared heating panels, and
  • solar panels (with a storage battery) should be installed on the long south-facing roof to provide electricity for the property.

During a morning in the empty almshouse with both Katharine from Leaping Hare and Craig from Osier Developments the plans began to take shape and adjustments made in order to improve the initial ideas:

  • Craig and his team would strip out the bathroom and the airing cupboard, insulate the exterior walls, replace the toilet, remove the bath completely and in its place install a vanity unit with a sink.
  • They would also carry out the repairs to the brick and flint work on the exterior of the building which had been identified in a recent Quinquennial Inspection.
  • Katharine and the Leaping Hare team would install the new hot water heater with additional pipes to the shower and the kitchen sink as these had previously been supplied by individual electric units.
  • Leaping Hare would also install infrared heating panels to the sloping ceilings of the living room, kitchen, porch and small corridor, and to the flat ceiling in the bedroom. This would free up wall space for bookcases or cupboards and allow the occupant to arrange furniture without the need to allow for hot air to circulate from wall-mounted storage heaters.
  • The heating in the bathroom would be provided by a large infrared mirror above the vanity unit, directing heat towards the shower.
Before solar panels were fitted
After

Raising the funds

The initial quotes for the project came in at just under Ā£37,000. Unfortunately the property was not eligible for grants from the County Council Warm Homes initiative nor from the local offshore windfarm fund.

So the Trustees applied to The Almshouse Association for an interest-free loan of Ā£25,000 (plus 5% admin fee). The application process was thorough, but straightforward and assistance was available from the administration staff. The application was successful which meant that the trustees could go ahead with the full programme of improvements and upgrades, while still having funds available to tackle the maintenance and repairs which had been identified in Quinquennial Inspections for both almshouses (the other almshouse needed a new front door, repointing to brickwork and repairs to two chimney stacks).

Before upgrade
After

The total cost of the heating, water and electrical and insulation upgrades (and the additional maintenance) at the almshouse came to just over Ā£47,500. So the loan from The Almshouse Association was a great help and much appreciated by the trustees and clerk.

Payback on solar panels

The trustees discussed how to achieve the pay-back on the solar panel investment without disadvantaging the new occupant.

  • A number of options were considered, including taking on responsibility for the electrical bills. The latter was rejected as the trustees did not wish to be responsible for non-payment of bills nor to impinge on the occupantā€™s independence and incentive to use the solar-powered electricity, hot water and heating systems efficiently in order to get the ā€˜feed-inā€™ payment.
  • After much discussion and a helpful spreadsheet, it was decided to add Ā£7.30 to the Weekly Maintenance Contribution which had in turn been set with reference to the Fair Rent Valuation from the Valuation Office Agency. This figure would mean that the investment in the solar panels would be recuperated over 40 years, while the occupant would benefit from low energy bills.

Happy resident, better environment

The new occupant is thrilled with her home and moved in as soon as the building and installations had been completed. With these measures in place the almshouse is more comfortable and cost-effective for the occupant in the short and long term, and has a beneficial impact on the environment and climate by reducing the use of and reliance on fossil fuels.

Did you know?

Funds used by The Almshouse Association to make loans to charities last in perpetuity. Loans to charities are interest-free with just a small setup fee. As they pay back the loan over a 10 year period, the Association is able to re-lend out the funds over and over again, ensuring more almshouses can be built or older almshouses can be preserved with a new roof or modernised with extensions or wet rooms. So if you are thinking about contributing to our rolling charity support fund by making a donation or leaving money in your Will, you will know that your money will be helping to change peopleā€™s lives for the better for many, many generations to come.