More than 1,000 council homes in Royal Greenwich will be warmer, healthier and cheaper to run thanks to a major three-year multimillion pound programme of energy efficiency upgrades.
As part of our Housing Our Greenwich programme we are investing over £50 million to improve some of our eligible council homes with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) of D or below.
The upgrades will mean a further 1,120 homes will be made warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer and help residents reduce their energy bills, while being healthier to the environment by reducing the levels of carbon emissions in the atmosphere.
Council Leader Anthony Okereke and Councillor Pat Slattery joined local resident Rosa Mayson who has had recent energy efficiency upgrades made to her Charlton home, at the launch of the next phase of the programme. Her home has been made warmer thanks to new windows, new front door and patio doors as well as external wall and loft insulation.
Councillor Anthony Okereke, the Leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, said: “This investment is about more than just bricks and mortar for us – it's about making sure that residents have warm, healthy, cheaper, safe and secure homes to live in for years to come.
“We’re delivering this as part of our Housing Our Greenwich ambition to upgrade our existing council homes to help residents lower their energy bills, reduce their carbon emissions and live more comfortably. It’s also a significant step towards meeting our commitment to become a carbon neutral borough.”
Homes that are part of the programme will benefit from upgrades like insulation in walls or roofs, new windows and doors or modern heating and hot water systems. Some of the external work will mean that residents will experience fewer draughts or cold spots and will be far less likely to experience issues with damp or mould.
Cllr Pat Slattery, Cabinet Member for Housing Management, Neighbourhoods and Homelessness said: “These improvements will make a real difference to everyday life – warmer homes mean healthier lives, and we want as many eligible tenants as possible to benefit from these upgrades. It’s also a good way we can make sure we fix any other issues at the same time – that's a better way of working for us but more importantly it will be better all round for tenants.”
These upgrades will be delivered in council homes with an EPC level of D or below using £10.5 million funding from the government's Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund Wave 3. These are homes that currently do not meet the government’s climate goals for improving the energy performance measures in social housing.
Mrs Mayson, who has lived in her three-bed home for 30 years said: “It’s made a huge improvement. With the house being so much warmer now and the bills have gone down, you don’t need to put the heating on very much, maybe half an hour and the house is nice and warm. The wall insulation, the windows, the patio doors the new front and back door, have made the house five degrees warmer. I’ve really noticed the difference in my bills because I've got a smart meter now and they’ve gone down quite a lot”.
Eligible residents will be contacted for a survey if their home is selected for the programme.