More than 800 Torus homes across Liverpool, Warrington and St Helens have been made warmer and more energy-efficient following the completion of a £41.8 million retrofit investment programme.

The three-year programme delivered upgrades to 836 homes, improving thermal comfort and enhancing tenants’ health and wellbeing while reducing carbon emissions.

Measures installed included external and cavity wall insulation, new roofs, loft and roof insulation, new windows and doors, air source heat pumps, ventilation improvements and solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, all designed to reduce heat loss and improve energy performance.

The initiative was supported by Liverpool City Region Combined Authority’s Registered Provider Consortium, which successfully secured £9 million grant funding through the government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund 2.1, since renamed the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund 2.1. This was further bolstered by £32 million of investment from Torus.

Across 15 schemes, works were completed on a range of properties, from bungalows, semi-detached and terraced houses to high-rise apartment buildings.

This included improvement works to over 260 homes across Haydock Central Drive, Haydock Grosvenor, Haresfinch and Windlehurst in St Helens; 64 homes in Culcheth; 51 apartments at Kingsway House in Warrington; 72 apartments across Cathedral Walk, Brunswick Road and Kirk Street in Liverpool; and 130 homes in the Walton area of Liverpool. The programme also included a whole-house retrofit at Newman Street.

Torus worked in partnership with its in-house contractor, HMS, as well as other specialist delivery partners including, Next Energy, RE:GEN and ECOGEE. Throughout the works, teams supported tenants before, during and after installation, helping them understand and maximise the benefits of the improvements made to their homes.

The completion of the Wave 2.1 programme marks a significant milestone in Torus’ long-term commitment to improving our existing homes and delivering on our net-zero ambitions.

Mike Austin, Group Head of Asset Investment, said:

“These energy-efficiency improvements are making a real difference to hundreds of homes across Liverpool, St Helens and Warrington, helping our tenants stay warmer in winter, cooler in summer while reducing the energy needed to heat their homes. Alongside improved comfort, every home on the programme now meets a minimum Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of C, making it more sustainable and fit for the future.

“As we continue our decarbonisation journey, this programme provides a strong foundation for future investment, enabling more customers to benefit from healthier, more energy-efficient homes for years to come.

Cllr Graham Morgan, Cabinet Member for Housing and Strategic Planning, said:

"This investment is making a real difference to communities across the Liverpool City Region, helping hundreds of social housing tenants enjoy warmer, healthier and more energy-efficient homes while reducing their energy bills and carbon emissions.

“Improving the energy performance of our homes is a vital part of our journey to net zero by 2035. By working closely with housing providers such as Torus and securing government funding through the Warm Homes programme, we are delivering large-scale retrofit projects that benefit residents, tackle fuel poverty and create more sustainable homes for the future.

“The success of this programme demonstrates what can be achieved through strong partnerships, and it's fantastic to see this work continuing with further investment that will enable even more households across our region to benefit from energy-efficiency improvements."

The retrofit programme reached completion in March 2026.

Torus is progressing the next phase of retrofit projects after securing funding through Wave 3 of the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund in 2025. Wave 3 will see over 1,000 more Torus homes benefit from energy-efficiency improvements across the three-year programme, with works already completed in Moss Bank and Newton-le-Willows by in-house contractor, HMS, as part of phase one.