Local grants to improve household energy efficiency have been extended after more than 500 households have been improved to receive improvements.
Grants of up to £10,000 have been made available to Greater Manchester residents to help cut emissions and energy bills.
The grants can be used towards the cost of installing insulation, including wall, loft and cavity wall insulation; and low carbon heating systems such as air source heating pumps.
In addition, households are also eligible for home improvements such as new doors and windows to replace single glazed windows, and smart heating controls.
The fund is part of the UK Government’s Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery Scheme, with an additional £5.6m of funding secured by GMCA (Greater Manchester Combined Authority) to cover a further 821 homes in the city-region, the majority of which are for social-rent.
Residents who have a household income of less than £30,000 and living in homes with low energy efficiency ratings of EPC band E, F or G, are invited to apply.
Speaking of the decision to extend funding, Councillor Andrew Weston, GMCA Lead for the Green City-Region, said: “Retrofitting is a major tool at our disposal in the effort to tackle fuel poverty, create new skills and jobs, and decarbonise our city-region, so it’s great news that we’ve been able to continue this scheme through to September.
“We’re acutely aware that this remains a challenging time for many people. These kinds of measures can not only cut the cost of energy bills, but also improve the quality of our homes, making them better and more economical in the long run. A Green Homes Grant could make a real difference in so many ways, so I would encourage everyone who is eligible to take advantage of this very positive initiative.”
Insider’s View
The majority of homes in the UK were built before the introduction of energy performance regulation, meaning they can be notoriously cold, leaky and energy inefficient.
Retrofitting is a key step in Greater Manchester’s move toward carbon neutrality, especially in its efforts to decarbonise the energy network. To ensure the region meets its climate goals, it is anticipated that homes need to be completely carbon neutral.
Improving our homes is generally seen as more cost and energy-effective than knocking them down and starting again, and retrofitting could be a keystone to driving the green economy, creating new jobs which will require specialists to fit double glazing, insulation, or improved heating appliances.
