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 Steve Rotheram 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.”
Do you have a story for Stand Up For Southport? Do you need advertising, PR or media support? Please message Andrew Brown via Facebook here or email me at: mediaandrewbrownn@gmail.com
