Houses across the North East & Yorkshire to benefit from 'ambitious' £80m energy efficient upgrades

5,525 families across the North East and Yorkshire will benefit from energy efficiency upgrades to their homes thanks to Government backing for an ambitious housing retrofit scheme.

A consortium led by the North East and Yorkshire Net Zero Hub has successfully attracted funding from the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Wave 2.1 to deliver an £80m retrofit project across the North East and Yorkshire. This is made possible by a £32.4m grant from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and £48.2m from consortium partners to deliver the £80.6m scheme to 5,525 homes.

The North East & Yorkshire Net Zero Hub led the bid to the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Wave 2.1, which aims to raise the energy performance certificate (EPC) rating of social homes to a minimum of Band C.

Energy efficiency measures included in the scheme include insulation, draught-proofing, and upgrading heating systems, solar panels, heat pumps, and many others. They will help to reduce the number of people in fuel poverty and improve their comfort and health while driving down CO2 emissions and supporting the green economy and jobs.

A range of work will be carried out to dramatically improve the energy efficiency of properties across the region through a worst-first, fabric-first approach using measures such as external wall, loft, cavity wall, and underfloor insulation.

Some properties will also receive renewable technologies such as solar photovoltaic panels or air source heat pumps, moving away from reliance on fossil fuels to power and heat these buildings.

Chris Rowell, chair of the NEY Net Zero Hub and clean growth manager at Tees Valley Combined Authority, said: “This funding is a fantastic opportunity for us to make a real difference to the lives of people across the North East and Yorkshire. We are delighted to be able to put a plan in place that will improve the energy efficiency of homes, reduce fuel poverty for thousands of families and cut carbon emissions in our region.

“We’re working with both small and large housing providers across a fifth of the country to make sure as many communities as possible have the opportunity to benefit from these upgrades.”

North East and Yorkshire Energy Hub manager Karen Oliver-Spry said: “The success of this bid is great news for households in the area and builds on the achievements of the Hub’s LAD2 Green Home Grant scheme delivery in tackling poor energy performance in housing. This successful bid is one of several in the North East and Yorkshire, helped by Hub-funded support.”

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily