Council continues to tackle fuel poverty across the borough
Telford & Wrekin Council says it remains committed to tackling fuel poverty and improving the health and wellbeing of some of the most vulnerable people across the borough.
An update on the Council’s Affordable Warmth Strategy was presented to the Council's cabinet on Wednesday.
The strategy aims to reduce the number of fuel poor households in the borough and improve the health and wellbeing of the most vulnerable people in the community by ensuring they live in a warm and comfortable home.
It also aims to close the gap targeting those areas of the borough with the highest levels of fuel poverty and address inequalities.
Through the strategy, over the last 12 months the Council and partners have used £1.6m of Central Government funding to retrofit 175 properties with 254 measures, reducing 106 tonnes of CO2 to the most fuel poor homes in the borough.
A further 104 homes have been approved for retrofit measures through the ECO flex scheme which supports residents in households in fuel poverty and which suffer from cold-related illnesses.
In addition, the Council has dealt with 126 properties across the borough which suffer from damp, mould and excess cold and supported 4,388 households in partnership with Marches Energy Agency.
A total of £500,000 from the Council’s Climate Change Fund has also been committed to retrofit small cost, high impact measures into fuel poor homes and 79 eco grants have helped businesses become more sustainable and reduce their energy costs.
In partnership with the Marches Energy Agency, the Council is supporting the Future Ready Homes initiative which is aimed at the self-funded market, helping them to navigate the complicated retrofit market. .
The project will support householders throughout installation of works and ensure residents are getting the correct advice and quality from contractors.
The Retrofit Skills Home project complements Future Ready Homes - giving residents an opportunity to view measures in a ‘show home’ with regular open days, webinars, video tours and case studies.
Councillor Richard Overton (Lab), Telford & Wrekin Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Homes, Enforcement and Customer Services, said: “Since we first adopted our Affordable Warmth Strategy, we have seen a dramatic rise in energy prices and the resultant cost of living crisis has meant many more households are threatened with fuel poverty.
“However, we remain committed to supporting the most vulnerable households in terms of fuel poverty across the borough.
“Since the adoption of the strategy we have maximised all opportunities to apply for Central Government funding to retrofit the worst energy performing homes across the borough.
“Over £1.6m has been invested in the last 12 months, delivering 254 measures, over £45,000 of savings and a total carbon saving of 107 tonnes of CO2.
“The strategy supports our wider Council priorities to ensure every child, young person, and adult lives well in their community and all our neighbourhoods are a great place to live.”
