East Aryshire CoRE – BarShare Retrofit Demonstrator
The East Aryshire CoRE – BarShare Retrofit Demonstrator project, which will provide a real-world testing and evaluation of different retrofitting strategies, has received the Scottish Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) cross-institutional award.
Led by Dr Kate Carter, with Professor Sonja Dragojlovic-Oliveira and Dr Faye Wade, the concept was initially conceived at the Alliance’s Decarbonising Heat Crucible in Cumnock, East Ayrshire last September. The event brought academics, local authority, and community stakeholders together with professional grant writers to foster focused collaboration and support the development of co-created research ideas.
Beginning 1 March 2025, the East Aryshire CoRE – BarShare Retrofit Demonstrator project will test and evaluate retrofitting in three identical housing blocks within the Barshare housing estate in Cumnock. Researchers from The University of Edinburgh and the University Strathclyde will collaborate with the council, design professionals, retrofit and renewables contractors, community, young people and residents to evaluate the different retrofit. To make this possible, innovative ‘digital twins’ will be created providing data to model embodied carbon and energy reduction possible with each approach.
The evaluation will focus on the technical processes, materials and standard of quality deployed by construction firms, and how the approach impacts on the residents involved. This will provide an understanding of the most effective technical approach to retrofit, alongside broader environmental, social and economic impacts that arise for the households, community and the council. The outcomes will inform recommendations for East Ayrshire and other Councils to retrofit their housing stock, with the aim to accelerate retrofit across Scotland.
As well as a report containing evaluation findings and strategies for scaling up retrofit, a skills analysis will be conducted to inform the career pathways, training, and development of people who will carry out future retrofitting and make training materials available. The project would be embedded in Cumnock’s net zero initiatives, connecting the retrofitting work to other projects such as the Community Renewable Energy (CoRE) Project, Rankinston Village ‘Pathfinder’, and the new Barony Campus, which will fund and embed retrofitting STEM skills for all ages.
Barshare, a council-built housing estate in the ex-mining town of Cumnock is in the bottom 20% SIMD (Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation). There is a mix of housing types and tenures but generally there is a poor level of energy efficiency. Three existing mid-rise residential blocks will be retrofitted to high levels of energy efficiency coupled with installation of renewable energy system, reducing fuel poverty for the tenants and creating pathways to ‘affordable warmth’ in homes across the community.
Kate said: “I’m thrilled to collaborate with Faye and Sonja on this significant project. Partnering with East Ayrshire Council on the Barshare Retrofit is a fantastic chance to combine expertise in Passivhaus, retrofit, and green skills to enhance homes and reduce fuel poverty. We aim for our research to deepen understanding of retrofit approaches, supply chains and enhance capacity for transitioning more homes to net zero across the council region.”
Sonja has added: “I’m really excited to be working with East Ayrshire Council and the University of Edinburgh, not just as a researcher but also a resident in Ayrshire. We hope to learn about the social and spatial implications of different retrofit solutions and how the local community experience these – this knowledge could have a significant and critical impact on a nationally and not just regionally important issue for our homes and communities.”
Sign up to our mailing list for future collaborative opportunities and events.
