Leading charity Changeworks has been awarded funding from SSEN Transmission to deliver Warmer, Greener Park Home Communities, a targeted two-year initiative supporting fuel-poor park home residents across the SSEN region.
Delivered in partnership with the Scottish Confederation of Park Home Residents Associations (SCOPHRA), the project will address the unique and often overlooked energy challenges faced by people living in park homes. These are typically single-storey prefabricated homes that are poorly insulated, reliant on expensive fossil fuels, and frequently excluded from mainstream energy efficiency support.
Park home residents are more likely to experience fuel poverty due to inefficient housing and unregulated energy supplies. Warmer, Greener Park Home Communities aims to alleviate this by combining practical household-level support with community capacity-building to create lasting change.
The project will support park home residents across Aberdeenshire, Angus, the Highlands, Perth & Kinross and Moray, as well as individuals living in standalone park homes. Key activities will include:
- Energy information and advice, including tailored resources for park home residents
- Personalised energy and retrofit plans, setting out practical improvements
- Hands-on retrofit support, including referrals and ongoing guidance
By working together, Changeworks will bring its expertise in energy advice and inclusive community engagement, while SCOPHRA will contribute its strong relationships with park home residents and in-depth understanding of their needs and aspirations. Together, the partners will strengthen and protect park home communities across the SSEN area.
Josiah Lockhart, Chief Executive of Changeworks, said: “We’re delighted to receive support from SSEN Transmission’s Regional Fund for this important project. This is the first time Changeworks has been funded by SSEN Transmission, and we are very pleased to begin what we hope will be a longlasting partnership.
“This funding will enable us to work closely with park home communities across the SSEN region, providing support to ensure residents have access to the advice and resources they need to live in affordably warm homes. It also allows us, together with SCOPHRA and local partners, to build stronger community capacity so that the benefits of this work are sustained well beyond the life of the project.”
Gary Hughes, Economic Development Manager at SSEN Transmission, said: “These awards show our commitment to ensuring that critical electricity infrastructure delivers real benefits for local communities, especially in remote and island areas.
“Between our regional fund and the local funds we are creating, more than £100m will be made available for community benefit across the north of Scotland. This is just one of the positive legacies our investment is delivering as we work to strengthen energy security and support the transition to clean power.”
Gordon Morrison, Chair at SCOPHRA, said: “SCOPHRA is delighted to be working in partnership with Changeworks to investigate and deliver bespoke energy advice and solutions tailored specifically to the needs of park home residents. Too often, these households struggle to access guidance that reflects the unique realities of park home living — from the routes available to secure affordable utilities to the practicalities of installing solutions that work with park home structures and on‑site infrastructure.
“This project will not only help address those challenges, but it will also ensure that SCOPHRA can continue sharing clear, relevant energy‑efficiency messaging long after the project concludes, supported by our 10 Community Connector volunteers.
“We are extremely grateful to SSEN Transmission’s Regional Fund for enabling this important work. Their support allows us to carry out the detailed investigation needed to develop a robust plan that identifies where improvements can be made — and, we hope, unlock future funding to deliver meaningful change for park home communities.”
The project will create lasting impact by embedding learning and resources across the sector. Residents will see long-term reductions in energy use and costs, SCOPHRA members will gain enhanced energy expertise, and insights from the project will inform future policy and practice through collaboration with energy support agencies.