Funding helps turn up heat in Salford tower blocks

More than 500 residents are set to benefit from a £2.2 million investment to improve heating systems across five Salford tower blocks.

Housing association Salix Homes has secured the Government funding through the latest round of the Heat Network Efficiency Scheme (HNES).

The investment will support upgrades at Nine Acre Court in Ordsall, Floral Court in Broughton, and Black Friar Court, Newbank Tower and Riverbank Tower in Trinity.

Planned work includes improvements to communal heating systems, plant rooms and pipework, alongside better insulation and the replacement of heat interface units and meters in residents’ homes.

The upgrades are designed to reduce energy waste and carbon emissions while improving efficiency and helping residents lower their energy bills.

David Malsom, sustainability manager at Salix Homes, said: “Securing a further £2.2 million is fantastic news for our customers and represents another significant step forward in our work to improve the energy efficiency of our homes across Salford. 

“This investment will enable us to modernise these older heating systems, making them more efficient and reliable, while reducing wasted energy and carbon emissions and helping to keep energy costs down for our customers. 

“Combined with the funding we secured earlier this year, we now have Government support to carry out major improvements at eight of our ten tower blocks with communal gas heating, which is a significant boost to our wider investment plans.” 

Salix Homes, which owns more than 8000 homes across Salford, including 21 tower blocks, expects work to begin next year.

The latest award follows £1.2 million secured through HNES earlier this year for heating upgrades at Magnolia Court, Sycamore Court and Mulberry Court in Pendleton.

Together, the awards mean Salix Homes has secured around £3.5 million towards heating improvements at eight of its ten tower blocks with communal gas heating.

A further £25,000 has been awarded for an optimisation study at Canon Hussey Court in Islington to identify potential future improvements and support further funding bids.

Martin McCluskey, minister for local energy and jobs, added: “Clean power and clean heat benefits communities across our country. 

“Building the infrastructure to deliver it is reindustrialising the UK and rolling out cutting-edge energy technology so families can benefit from lower bills, good jobs and energy security. 

“And for those already using heat networks, we are upgrading inefficient systems to make sure people get the high-quality, low-cost, reliable heating they deserve.” 

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