The Department of Energy Security (DESNZ) and Net Zero have provided over £200,000 to help retrofit Right to Buy (RTB) properties in Sheffield to make them more sustainable.
This week DESNZ have designated £257,000 to help sustainably upgrade 184 RTB properties across eight estates in the northern city. The money has been accepted by Sheffield Local Energy Advice Demonstration (LEAD), a consortium made up of Efficiency North, lead through its charity EN:Able Communities, Sheffield City Council and Groundwork.
As well as helping to make homes more environmentally, the money will also be used to seek advice on energy efficient measures.
As a result of the funding being provided, a decent percentage of residents who would have usually missed out on an energy efficiency measures undertaken on the council-owned properties will now be able to receive detailed energy advice about how to make their homes more sustainable and, in the long-run, save more money whilst doing so.
Funding for this project has been widely accepted and whilst helping to upgrade homes in Sheffield, it is also helping to lower carbon emissions in England. Last year it has uncovered that more than four-fifths of UK homes are still heated by gas boilers and account for 21% of call carbon emissions.
‘This is a significant scheme that is truly innovative in its approach, ensuring that every RTB resident on the eight estates covered by it, gets the same access to advice on energy efficiency measures that will make their homes warmer and more comfortable while also reducing carbon emissions,’ Simeon Perry, head of EN:Able Communities, said, ‘Furthermore, Sheffield LEAD will place the property owner at the centre of the decision-making process, which sets it apart from the retrofit assessment action plans that have typically been presented to them rather than co-produced.’
Simeon added: ‘We want to ensure that every visit and contact point counts, thereby maximising the guidance provided at each visit and reducing the disruption and inconvenience for each customer.’
Image: Benjamin Elliott
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