Thousands of homes are to be made warmer and more energy
efficient as part of an £80m investment secured by the Liverpool
City Region Combined Authority.
£31.8m will come from the Warm Homes: Local Grant fund and will
be distributed to low-income homeowners and private
renters.
The funding was secured by a Combined Authority-led consortium of
Liverpool City Region's six local authorities – Halton, Knowsley,
Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral – and was the third
highest award in England.
A further £48m has been secured through the Warm Homes Social
Housing Fund which will be distributed among 24 housing
associations operating in the city region and the wider north
west. The award was the fourth highest in England and work is
expected to start in the summer.
The investment – which will enable energy-efficiency improvements
to around 10,000 homes - is part of a five-year carbon action
plan to make the city region net zero by 2035. It comes on top of
£105m already secured by the Combined Authority to retrofit
10,000 homes with energy-efficiency upgrades including wall and
loft insulation, new roofs, solar panels, heat pumps and
ventilation.
Mayor of the Liverpool City Region said:
“Too many families are still forced to choose between heating and
eating – and that's simply not right. This investment from
government is a welcome step towards fixing that, with more than
£31m going to low-income households in our region and another
£48m to support social housing residents.
“Here in the Liverpool City Region, we've already invested over
£100m to improve the energy efficiency of more than 10,000 homes
– cutting bills, reducing carbon emissions, and tackling fuel
poverty. This latest funding builds on that progress, helping
even more people stay warm for less. And I'll keep working with
government to make sure our region gets the investment it needs,
so no one is left behind.”
Households with an energy inefficient home (Energy Performance
Certificate Band D or below) and living in certain postcodes will
be automatically eligible for the local grant scheme.
Grants can also be accessed by households with an annual income
of less than £36,000, who own their own home or for certain
privately rented properties.
Cllr Graham Morgan, Cabinet Member for Housing and
Regeneration, said:
“More than half of our region's 720,000 homes are rated below the
EPC band C standard, which makes them less efficient and more
expensive to heat. We've secured this latest funding thanks to
our track record of working with government and partners to
deliver large scale retrofit projects. This significant
investment means that thousands of local people will pay less to
heat their homes in future.”
