North West nets £233m for decarbonisation

More than 14,000 social homes and a slew of public buildings in the region will receive energy efficiency upgrades thanks to a funding boost from the government.

The £233m for the North West comes from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, the Homes Upgrade Grant, and the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme. In total, £1.8bn was awarded across the UK from the three schemes on Wednesday.

The funds will be distributed in April and are meant to be used in projects that complete within two years.

Social housing improvements

The North West received £189m for energy efficiency upgrades such as the installation of air source heat pumps, solar panels, draughtproofing, and improvements to insulation, ventilation, and heating controls.

Among the award winners was Blackpool Council, which received £2.6m from the Social Housing Decarbonisation Funds and another £41m from the Home Upgrade Grant. West Lancashire Council received £1.8m from SHDF.

In Cheshire, Peaks & Plains Housing Trust secured £2.5m from the government, while Cheshire East Council and Cheshire West & Chester Council netted £6.2m.

Over in Cumbria, Eden District Council was awarded £5.1m from SHDF. The council also led a consortium including Allerdale Council, Barrow-in Furness Council, Copeland Council, Carlisle Council, and South Lakeland Council in securing £12.4m from the Home Upgrade Grant.

The big winners of the decarbonisation funds in the North West were the Liverpool City Region and Greater Manchester.

Liverpool City Region

Liverpool City Region Combined Authority received £42m from the government funds for social housing upgrades.

Liverpool-based social housing provider The Riverside Group was awarded £12.7m.

“We are delighted that we have secured just short of £12.7m from the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero,” said Carol Matthews, chief executive of The Riverside Group.

“This funding will enable us to improve the energy efficiency of our homes and protect our residents from rising fuel bills and cost of living crisis,” she continued.

“Riverside will be matching funding and investing £15m as part of our retrofitting and net zero commitments. We are looking forward to working with the government to improve over 1,100 homes and the lives of our residents living in them.”

Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester Combined Authority was awarded £37m from the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund. Manchester City Council received £10.4m from the Home Upgrade Grant and Rochdale secured £3.1m.

GMCA’s £37m bid was supported by 18 registered providers, which have committed another £60m to the cause. The £97m total will go on to support 5,482 homes in receiving needed energy efficiency upgrades.

Manchester City Council will be improving energy efficiency measures in 1,603 homes. Southway Housing has the next largest number, with 1,112 homes set to be improved.

First Choice Homes Oldham follows with 360 homes set for upgrades, then Great Places Housing with 319 homes.

Other housing providers involved include Bolton at Home, Irwell Valley Housing Association, Jigsaw Homes, Johnnie Johnson Housing, Mosscare St Vincent Housing, and One Manchester.

Onward Homes, Rochdale Boroughwide Housing, Salix Homes, Six Town Housing, and Stockport Homes are also on the list of RPs to benefit from the funds. As are Wythenshawe Community Housing Group, Wigan Council, and Your Housing Group.

GMCA estimates that the upgrades could save an average of £276.78 on each home’s annual bill thanks to moving the average EPC Band from D to C. The work would also support 3,500 jobs and 60 apprenticeships, the combined authority said.

“Reducing the amount of energy used in our homes will be key to achieving our long-term environmental vision of being a carbon-neutral city-region by 2038,” said Cllr Martyn Cox, lead for the green city region and waste and recycling at GMCA, and Leader of Bolton Council.

“Prioritising improvements to our social homes will help ensure some of the families most in need in Greater Manchester will benefit from our push to make the city-region a greener and fairer place for all, whilst also supporting the growth of the vitally needed retrofit employment sector,” he continued.

“These measures will not just benefit our environment – they will reduce the costs of heating and lighting homes something that, now more than ever, residents are desperately concerned about.”

Public sector upgrades

In addition to the £189m received for upgrading social homes, the North West secured £44m to reduce carbon emissions in schools, colleges, and public sector buildings from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.

Among the projects to be funded is the Ministry of Justice’s bid for £15.8m to decarbonise HMP Risley in Warrington, which the government says is the last remaining coal-fired prison in the country.

GMCA will use £1.7m to install low-carbon heating in various buildings including Eccles Town Hall, Shevington Library, Woodhouse Park Leisure Centre, and Stockport’s Dial Park Primary School.

The United Learning Trust was another award recipient, securing £5.7m to install air source heat pumps in five North West schools: Salford City Academy, Albion Academy, Manchester Academy, Malborough Road Academy, and Accrington Academy.

Read the full list of Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme grant recipients.