Good practice:

Lourdes Renove_Tudela

The Lourdes district is a social housing district built between 1954 and 1972 using very basic construction systems: lacking any type of thermal insulation and with no accessibility solutions. The neighbourhood is experiencing continuous deterioration and its population is aging.

The Lourdes Renove project is conceived as the first phase of the Integral Energy Rehabilitation of the Lourdes Neighbourhood. Under the energy saving criteria that lead the project, the actions were taken on both in the public and the private space:
- 4 type pilot projects for a complex building refurbishment
- Renovation of heating networks and replacement of district heating boilers
- Partial redevelopment of the urban area

In order to reach maximum involvement of its inhabitants, an office was opened in the neighbourhood as a meeting point for technicians and neighbours, with an informative and awareness-raising mission, as well as a dynamic function. A social company was also contracted for the participation and social invigoration plan drafting and implementation.

The involvement of the municipality was essential making possible the coordination between public and private actions.
The main stakeholders and beneficiaries were:
Navarra Government|NASUVINSA|Municipality of Tudela|Centro de Referencia Nacional en Energías Renovables y Eficiencia Energética, National Reference|Centro Nacional de Energías Renovables|Zabala Innovation consulting|Financial institutions| Kamira|citizens

- CONCERTO, a European Commission initiative within the European Research Framework Programme (FP6 and FP7) for technical management team
- Navarra Government – regional grants
- Municipality of Tudela – specific grants to low income people
- Citizens own funds, general investment,(18,000€/dwell)

Dwellings affected: Renovation of heating (486) and improvement of the thermal envelop and accessibility (146).
Total investment: Renovation of the heating (2.757.287 €), improvement of the envelopes (146 properties - 1.904.528 €), improved accessibility (80 dwellings - 1.099.622 €) and photovoltaic installations (150.000 €).
Private investment made during 2010-2011 (5.911.437 €)
Public investment by the city council of more than one million euros.
Employment (147 jobs).

An exhaustive work at technical level, but still tougher at social level was needed, as the population had to understand the benefits of rehabilitation to become the driving force behind the project. Thus, the proximity office, where doubts were resolved in the spot, was fundamental.

The replicability potential has been very high, such as IEE project, Efidistrict FWD (AGREEMENT NUMBER IEE/13/936/SI2.675074). This project has served as a basis for forming a methodology for awareness citizens how to implement renovation projects in other parts of the region. The main lesson learned is that it is important to involved citizens. Therefore, an office within the intervention scope has to be set. This office will be the meeting point between management staff of the project, citizens and the other stakeholders involved.
This methodology was the starting point for the Efidistrict project in Txantrea neighbourhood of Pamplona.
Today, the Lourdes Renove neighbourhood office has been opened again to the public to carry out the European Adaptation to Climate Change project, LIFE NAdapta.