The Climate Scrutiny Committee of Waltham Forest Council scheduled a meeting to discuss retrofitting council homes, air quality, and the committee's scrutiny report. The meeting was due to be held on Wednesday, 12 November 2025, at Waltham Forest Town Hall. Councillor Caramel Quin, was scheduled to chair the meeting.

Retrofitting Council Homes

The committee was scheduled to discuss a report on retrofitting council homes. The report noted that emissions from council homes account for 50% of the council's carbon emissions, rising to 70% when landlord-supplied energy is included. According to the report, housing emissions have decreased by 40% over the last 10 years due to improvements in energy efficiency and the decarbonisation of the UK electricity grid¹.

The council's 2020 Climate Action Plan set a target for 80% of council homes to achieve an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) 'B' rating by 2030. As of September 2025, just under 13% of council homes were rated EPC B or higher. The report estimated that reaching the Climate Action Plan target would require retrofitting 6,674 homes at an estimated cost of £110 million, or over £20 million per year. The report stated that this level of spending is beyond the financial scope of the Housing Revenue Account (HRA)².

The Housing service revised its internal energy efficiency targets to ensuring 90% of council homes reach at least EPC C by 2030, which as of September 2025, 75% of the council's 10,136 homes were rated EPC C or above. It was estimated that reaching this target could cost approximately £25 million.

The report also provided an update on past and present retrofit projects:

• Solar Photovoltaic (PV) panels have been installed on 1,290 council homes, with 1,032 of these qualifying for the Feed-in Tariff³. Since monitoring began in 2012, the panels have collectively produced over 27 million kWh of electricity - equivalent to £6.9 million in energy savings and a reduction of 4,882 tonnes of CO₂e.
• Solar PV panels have been installed on 35 housing blocks, helping to reduce the council's carbon emissions and energy costs for lighting communal areas.
• In 2024/2025, the council installed solar PV panels across five independent living schemes, incorporating a new technology called SolShare⁴. One of the schemes benefiting from these improvements is Dilwyn Court, which comprises 31 homes.
• The council successfully applied for £519,000 from the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) Carbon Offset Fund (COF) towards the cost of this project, matched by £147,690 council HRA funding.
• Goddarts House is piloting battery storage technology to allow residents to use solar energy throughout the day and night.

The council has also made three successful funding applications for central government funding to make energy efficiency improvements to its housing stock, including the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) Wave 1 project, which completed the retrofit of 140 council homes rated EPC D-G with wall insulation, loft insulation and solar PV panels, cofunded by £1.73m SHDF grant funding. This project included the extensive retrofit of Southfield Court, which houses 40 households.

The council is currently delivering its SHDF Wave 2.2 project, which aims to retrofit 175 council homes rated D and below with wall insulation, loft insulation, solar PV panels and improved ventilation. This has been funded by £1.45m SHDF funding, £330,000 carbon offset funding and £2.7m council HRA funding.

The report also noted that from July to September 2025, the government consulted on the introduction of a Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES) for social homes, proposing a minimum rating of EPC C for all new tenancies from 2028 and all tenancies from 2030.

Air Quality Update

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on air quality actions in the borough. The report stated that air pollution is the biggest environmental threat to human health, and that particular focus should be given to tackling the emissions of fine particulates (PM2.5)⁵. Two key sources of PM2.5 emissions in London and Waltham Forest are wood and other solid fuel burning in residential as well as commercial properties.

The report noted that the whole borough of Waltham Forest is a designated Smoke Control Area (SCA)⁶, under the Clean Air Act 1993. It is only legal to burn certain smokeless or authorised fuels or to use an appliance that has been granted an exemption by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

The council's existing Smoke Control Order (SCO) documentation does not include any maps, and the boundaries of each SCO area can only be determined based on the description provided in the Schedules. The Schedules use features such as railways and canals, as well as roads, to describe the boundaries. As there have been significant changes in the borough since the date of their creation some 50 to 60 years ago, particularly with new developments changing road layouts, the descriptions are becoming less accurate and reliable over time.

In April 2025 the council adopted and published a Smoke Control Order Enforcement Policy, setting out how the council will enforce the current smoke control rules, including the levels of civil penalty which can be imposed to those responsible for smoke emissions.

The report proposed to consolidate the council's existing SCOs into a new single SCO covering the whole borough, which is expected to generate greater public awareness, provide clarity for residents and businesses and allow for more effective enforcement. The new SCO will also include moored vessels for the first time, in line with the amendments to the Clean Air Act 1993 made by the provisions of the Environment Act 2021.

The report also provided an update on tackling PM2.5 emissions from commercial cooking. The council, along with several other London Local Authorities participated into a dissertation project, delivered by the University College London (UCL) and London Clean Air (LCA). The aim of the project is to establish the correlation between indoor PM2.5 levels and variables, such as type of cooking / cooking methods, type and quality of appliances, ventilation systems, number of staff working and size of the cooking area.

The project was carried out between April and September 2025 and included 48-hour indoor PM2.5 monitoring (in kitchens and dining areas) and awareness surveys with managers of 11 food establishments within the participating borough districts. Two (one gas, one electric kitchen) of the 11 establishments were located within Waltham Forest.

The Scrutiny Report

The committee was also scheduled to review the forward plan for the ongoing municipal year and make recommendations as necessary. There were two meetings left for this municipal year.

The committee was also invited to review and comment on the Action Tracker, the Recommendations Tracker and accompanying responses from the previous meeting.

Key decisions falling under the remit of this scrutiny committee in the upcoming Cabinet Forward Plan were as follows:

• Update on Sports Mission and Strategy – 'Getting Waltham Forest Active: a million more days'

The committee was also scheduled to discuss the Climate Scrutiny Committee Forward Plan for the remainder of the municipal year.