Preventing overheating in Haringey
Overheating due to the climate emergency is getting worse. And even more in London with its urban heat island. This is already causing thousands of extra deaths. The impacts are skewed, with bigger problems in lower income homes.
Summers are getting hotter, and many people are already dying in heat waves. Ask Haringey to protect its residents from heat waves now. Sign our petition SIGN OUR PETITION
Haringey Council has a duty of care towards its own council house residents, whether they are tenants, leaseholders or private tenants. Simple measures can be put in place to reduce overheating, from internal curtains, to external awnings and shutters, painting buildings in reflective paint. Tree planting can also help longer-term but, given likely heat and droughts, should be resilient species.
Where these measures can’t keep temperatures to a reasonable level, Air Conditioning should be considered (where possible, with solar PV to reduce net energy demand and costs). A range of techniques for reducing overheating and links to some of the products can be found here. Many of them are quite cheap – and very cost-effective. There is no excuse for the council not to look at this now.
1. Survey its properties to assess priorities and cost-effective treatments for each block or individual property. Priority should be given to most vulnerable households.
2. Include these treatments in its Decent Homes programme.
3. Where estates aren’t due Decent Homes works, the council should design schemes that can be fitted and seek funding for these. The government needs to help councils do this with technical advice and funding.
4. Where funding cannot be found in reasonable time, the council should allow able-to-pay households to install measures in line with these schemes. The Council should findcontractors and enable bulk-buying to reduce costs.
5. Given the likelihood of further heatwaves in 2027 – and the length of time that might be needed for surveying, procurement and installation - this should all start now.
We believe Haringey Council should provide advice and information to homeowners and to renters renters on their rights. Landlords must also be encouraged to enhance their properties to cope with the heatwaves that are coming.
As a start, we are pulling together some helpful links and resources - Coming Soon