https://phys.org/news/2018-10-renovating-energy.html

Just around the corner from the newly painted façades, only one building has remained untouched. Initially some citizens rejected the refurbishments, and strongly fought the project. However, when the works started in the summer of 2016, and the benefits became clear, many resisters changed their minds, petitioning the mayor to include them. But the EU subsidies had already been allocated to those residents who had been part of the project from its inception.

José Luis Casaseca Salas, here on the right, is the president of the local landlords' association, and was my guide during the visit. He told me that at the beginning of the project, citizens were sceptical and couldn't believe that the EU and the Valladolid municipality, were ready to cover 70 per cent of the renovation costs. So José took the lead and organised several community meetings to discuss the initiative: "I wanted the area to look modern," he said. He observed that the original pipes in the buildings were losing heat, and "losing heat means losing money." But it took him almost two years to convince all the 1,180 residents from 398 individual dwellings.