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  "description": "A Leicestershire charity could be kicked out of a building it has occupied for decades due to rules around energy efficiency and net zero ",
  "path": "/energy-efficiency-rules-could-force-charity-out-of-building-it-has-occupied-for-decades-2/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-29T13:00:32.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.leicester.news",
  "tags": [
    "Leicester Gazette",
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    "Learn more",
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  "textContent": "This story was written by the ****local democracy reporting service (LDRS),**** a BBC-funded scheme to improve the coverage of issues relating to local democracy. The Leicester Gazette has been a partner in the scheme since March 2024, and so receives some stories as part of it.\n\n****Because LDRS reporters are not employed by the Gazette, their stories do not follow our style guide or**** standards code****.****\n\n\n                            Learn more\n                        \n\nMoira Replan, a charity that operates from Ashby Road in Moira, says it has only two months to raise £230,000 to buy the old Ashby Woulds Urban District Council offices from North West Leicestershire District Council (NWLDC).\n\nIt currently attracts more than 100 residents – elderly and young – each week and helps run a number of classes, drop-ins and community support, having originally been formed to help redundant miners and residents following industrial decline.\n\nThe charity has been unable to secure a lease with NWLDC for years due to energy efficiency rules brought in from 2023, which require rented buildings to have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of at least E to be legally leasable.\n\nSince April 2018, it has been unlawful to grant a new lease or renew an existing lease for an F or G-rated property; however, rules changed in April 2023, requiring buildings to meet a minimum E rating to be leasable.\n\nThe charity’s chair told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) they were “a few points short” of the regulations, despite spending thousands to make it compliant.\n\nNWLDC served the charity with a Section 25 notice to end the tenancy in December 2024, before granting it a licence to occupy – effectively giving the charity less security and the possibility of being kicked out on short notice.\n\nSince 2025, Moira Replan has been left in limbo and says they haven’t been able to properly plan community events or secure adequate funding due to the current letting arrangement with the council.\n\nGraham Knight, chair of Moira Replan trustees and who has spent 38 years helping establish the charity, said it has until July 14 to secure the thousands of pounds needed to buy the building off NWLDC, after it was served a notice to dispose of it in January 2026 – meaning it could put the building up for sale.\n\nMr Knight told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that the building failed to meet the standard for leaseability, despite the charity offering NWDLC to help “get the building over the line” to meet the EPC standards.\n\nHe said: “We started doing all the interior works, so we put in more energy efficiency, a condensing boiler, we changed the lighting to LEDs, and people helped out financially and did loft insulation”.\n\nMr Knight said the charity offered to pay for cavity wall insulation, which would have enabled the building to meet EPC standards – but he claims the council “ignored” it.\n\nMoira Replan bosses also say that council officers were also considering a way to make the building exempt from EPC requirements before it was given a Section 25 notice, with the charity claiming there was “no update” or “communication”.\n\n## Join the conversation\n\nOur app is more than just a way to keep up – it's a gateway to award-winning journalism and the local community.\n\n\n\n\n__Want to support our work?__ Click here for membership__.__\n\nHe added: “We offered to pay to get it up to standard and they said ‘Ah well, it’ll probably change in a few years’ time and we still won’t be able to lease it to you'”.\n\nDuring a council meeting in 2024, Conservative housing boss Councillor Andrew Woodman admitted that it would be “very difficult” to get the building to meet regulations without major financial investment and that it was “not viable”.\n\nHe also said it was “necessary to look forward to the energy efficiency levels required by 2030” and that NWLDC could not legally lease the building due to the efficiency rules.\n\nIt is understood that exclusions can be made to specific buildings that don’t meet energy efficiency regulations; however, Moira Replan bosses have said there has been no update from the council regarding this.\n\nThe charity has since been on a licence to occupy, which is renewed every three months – a flexible arrangement between a landlord and tenant which is designed to be short-term but stops Moira Replan from undertaking any work itself.\n\nHowever, charity bosses have said this has caused major issues around funding, which could have gone towards making the building more energy efficient, compared to if it were being leased where the charity would be able to make its own repair work.\n\nMr Knight said: “We could have applied for grants to further improve the building, double-glaze the windows, and do further insulation work”.\n\nHe told the LDRS that council chiefs have been trying to move the charity to other council-owned properties, including those at Moira Furnace – but Mr Knight said it could cost the charity £6,000 a year.\n\nNWLDC declared a climate emergency in 2019, setting out to “improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions” for its buildings and is aiming to be a net-zero council by 2030.\n\nMoira Replan recently filed a formal complaint with NWLDC and is now racing to buy the building, as they believe it should be returned to the community and not sold off.\n\nMr Knight told the LDRS: “We’re very disappointed in the council’s attitude to local communities. They don’t seem to want to give any help and just ignore everything we have put forward that is for the benefit of the community”.\n\nMoira Replan has set up a fundraiser to try and help secure the future of the building (https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/savemoirareplan).\n\nA Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson said: “As part of our mission to become a clean energy superpower we will help charities and businesses to access clean, affordable power and lower their bills for good.\n\n“Non-domestic minimum energy efficiency standard rules have not changed since 2023, and exemptions are available where upgrades would not be cost-effective for tenants.”\n\n17 Ashby Road, the home of Moira Replan (CREDIT: MOIRA REPLAN)\n\n* * *\n\n**Before you go…** We've recently surpassed 1,000 subscribers, which is amazing considering we're a small team on a shoestring budget.\n\nNow, we're ready for the next stage of the Leicester Gazette. **Download our new app and get all of our journalism anytime, anywhere.**\n\nThe app connects with **Bluesky** , **Mastodon** and **Threads** , giving you access to a network of around 60 million people. It's a safer, more meaningful alternative to mainstream social media – owned by the community.\n\n* * *",
  "title": "Energy efficiency rules could force charity out of building it has occupied for decades",
  "updatedAt": "2026-05-29T15:00:33.410Z"
}