Erewash Borough Council is urging residents hardest hit by the cost of living to apply for grants worth thousands as part of a £1million-plus drive to make homes across the borough more energy efficient.
The money – for loft and wall insulation, solar panels and heat pumps – comes after it was revealed almost a third of Erewash’s roughly 52,000 residential properties are rated at the lower end of the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) scale. This compares to a national average of a fifth.
Funding for the grants over the next two years is being allocated by central government and the shadow East Midlands Combined County Authority, so does not come from Council Tax.
Levelling-up cash from what is known as the Shared Prosperity Fund is being used – along with other investment as part of the UK’s drive towards Net Zero.
The grants are available for owner-occupiers whose gross household income is below £31,000, including benefits.
Applying is easy after the council teamed up with Marches Energy Agency, which is an environmental charity specialising in the energy sector. More info is on the Erewash Borough Council website here: Warmer and Greener Homes (erewash.gov.uk)
Lead Member for the Environment, Councillor Joel Bryan said: “This investment is great news as we step up our efforts to get to Net Zero. We are determined amid the cost of living crisis to see that residents get every help.
“The programme will help to instal energy efficient measures to provide warmer homes, reduce fuel poverty and improve the lives of Erewash residents struggling with the cost of heating their homes
“Those people who live in poor housing are more likely to be in fuel poverty and to suffer from long-term health conditions.”