In this episode, we are joined by Ben Harrison, Housing Sustainability Development Officer for Southend-On-Sea Council. Our second youngest guest and who is one of the key players in the award-winning retrofit home project we look at this episode. In this episode, we explore a former council house, now re-purchased by Southend-On-Sea Council. This is one of a number of homes being modernized and retrofitted to provide a more comfortable place to live, and that has a key role in helping reduce the cost of living for residents, and in decarbonising the council's housing stock. What is interesting about this house, is that this house has a much wider range of measures, and is subject to intense monitoring to measure the impact of the various technologies and solutions installed, than the other properties up for renewal. It's a pilot house to see what works, and what doesn't, see how technologies perform, how the house performs as a whole, and the next stage is to even have a family living in the property, to see how they get on with the new technologies. Additionally, the house is included in the Catchment to Coast project, part of a wider government program looking at flood risk and water resilience, which also led to a wide range of water-saving technologies also being introduced into the properties, as well as the design of exterior spaces to help manage rainwater in new and innovative ways during storm events. This is a fantastic project and one of national importance to help inform and show how we might be able to transition not just public housing, but also private properties, to bring the cost of living down, whilst also meeting our climate objectives, tackling water scarcity and reducing flooding. Guest: Ben Harrison https://www.southend.gov.uk/news/article/2952/southend-on-sea-city-council-shortlisted-for-four-essex-housing-awards Be sure to check out the podcast on all usual podcast platforms, and on social media. A huge thank you to all those who helped make this project happen, with special thanks to: Southend-On-Sea Council Catchment to Coast: https://engageenvironmentagency.uk.engagementhq.com/sou019-catchment-to-coast Water Offsets: https://www.wateroffsets.co.uk/ South Essex Homes: https://southessexhomes.co.uk/ Morgan Sindall Property Services: https://morgansindallpropertyservices.com/ Hydrorock: https://www.hydrorock.com/ Southend-On-Sea Parks Team Eurovia: https://www.eurovia.co.uk/ A big shout-out to those who have made this series possible! Sponsored by: Water Offsets: https://www.wateroffsets.co.uk/ Vectorworks: https://www.vectorworks.net/en-GB/2023 Our kind supporters: The Birmingham Botanical Gardens: https://lnkd.in/gyFwj5b8 and, Gillian Goodson Designs: https://lnkd.in/gDQwz-As Finally, this episode is powered by: ND Landscape Architects Ltd : https://ndla.co.uk/ and, Monsterdon LTD: https://monsterdon.com/ @vectorworks @WaterOffsets @GardensAndDriveways @thebirminghambotanicalgard4950 @ndlandscapearchitectsltd.8472 @monsterdonltd @gilliangoodsondesigns900 #Councilhouse #biodiversity #sustainability #nature #house #podcast #environment #retrofit #climatecrisis #retrofitting #architecture #netzero #watersecurity #water #climatechange #housingcrisis #costofliving #climatechange #moneysavingtips #ecofriendly #interiordesign #energy #savetheplanet #lowcarbon #carbonneutral #sustainableliving #homeappliances #science #climateresilience #landscape #climateaction #ideas #innovation #landscapearchitecture #carbonfootprint #climate #climatetech