Hundreds of social housing homes across the northeast of England will benefit from new energy efficiency upgrades thanks to more than £2.6 million in additional government funding.
The funding, secured through the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund by the North East and Yorkshire Net Zero Hub will enable two landlords to accelerate improvements to 489 homes by the end of this financial year.
The funding comes soon after the publication of the government’s Warm Homes Plan, described as “the biggest ever public investment to upgrade British homes and cut bills”.
Housing association believe housing has been awarded £2.1 million, with Bernicia receiving £500,000. Both organisations will match fund the investment to deliver upgrades to help residents stay warm, reduce energy use and cut household bills.
Karen Oliver-Spry, Manager of the North East and Yorkshire Net Zero Hub, said: “This additional funding will take the number of properties across the North East and Yorkshire made warmer, healthier and cheaper to run through Hub-managed programmes close to 10,000 – and these aren’t just numbers, these are households, families and lives made better through the efforts of our consortium members like believe housing and Bernicia. It’s great to see what consortium working and true collaboration can achieve”.
believe housing is improving 339 homes with top-up funding
For believe housing, the top up is helping to fund improvements to 339 homes. Measures include loft and cavity wall insulation, improved ventilation, heating controls, energy efficient lighting, and for some homes, solar panels to generate clean electricity.
Kate Abson, Director of Assets and Development at believe housing, said: “This is great news for people living in hundreds of our homes, as it means we can bring important improvements to their homes sooner.
“These upgrades will help people feel warmer and healthier, while reducing energy use and easing pressure on household budgets. They also support local jobs and help cut carbon emissions.
“We appreciate the support of our partners, whose help in securing funding and delivering improvements is invaluable. This additional investment recognises the impact we’re making and shows the trust placed in us to continue doing the right thing for our customers.”
believe housing has now upgraded 4,000 homes through previous phases of government funding and will improve thousands more in the years ahead. Specialist contractor RE:GEN Group is carrying out the work on homes with an EPC rating below C.
One of the first customers to benefit from the scheme, Terry Beer, said his Peterlee home “feels much warmer” after receiving cavity wall insulation, loft insulation, ventilation improvements and energy efficient lighting in 2022.
He added: “It definitely feels much warmer since the work was done.
“With energy prices and the cost of living so high, it’s good to know I’m using and paying for less energy just to keep my home warm.”
Samantha Tullock, Assistant Director of Strategic Assets at believe housing, said: “Improving 4,000 homes and securing additional funding are major milestones, but the real impact is felt when we sit with customers like Terry, feeling how comfortable their homes now are and hearing how much easier they are to keep warm.”
Bernicia improving 150 homes
Bernicia is using its allocation to improve the energy performance of a further 150 homes, on top of more than 1,400 homes upgraded by delivery partner 0800 Repair in earlier waves of the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund.
Alan and Pauline Warnaby’s bungalow in Seahouses, Northumberland, has benefited from an air source heat pump, new radiators, loft insulation and solar panels.
“We love it here, it was like winning the lottery getting this house,” said retired joiner Alan, 83.
“It’s a lot warmer in our home now, the workmanship from Bernicia was spot on and we’re very happy and very pleased with the work we’ve had done.”
Bernicia Assistant Director of Assets, Ryan Irving Carr, said: “Bernicia has a significant number of homes in rural areas, and we’ve made great strides in delivering for these customers. In Seahouses, we’ve upgraded 56 homes fitting air source heat pumps and solar PV, replacing old electric storage heaters.
“We continue to push our energy efficiency programme – our corporate target was to have 90% of customers’ homes at EPC C or above by March 2026. I am delighted we are ahead of this target at 91% with hundreds more jobs planned in by the end of March.”
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