A British bank has provided funding for 10,000 new sustainable homes across the south of Wales in the next decade.

Lloyds Bank has contributed a £100m sustainability linked loan to social housing provider, Pobl Group, in a bid to incentivise Pobl to meet its target on new home energy ratings and increase the number of affordable homes. 

“Integrating solar panels and smart batteries, leveraging heat networks, improving insulation and providing electric vehicle charging are just some of the raft of measures our team is reviewing and delivering as part of our sustainable development plans,” says James O’Connor, director of corporate finance at Pobl Group.

Current design plans also show the development of several green roofs and living walls on a planned apartment building, featuring multiple planters, tree species and a majority of wall surface area camouflaged in greenery. 

Pobl have “understood and responded to the opportunities and challenges that net-zero presents for UK housing,” says Jatinder Dhaliwal, regional housing director at Lloyds Bank, “Pobl shows a palpable sense of responsibility to the climate and its customers.”

The loan is designed to encourage the Group to meet its energy rating targets for new homes, invest in retrofitting existing properties and build a ‘significant’ number of new affordable homes over the next four years.