Thousands of Greater Manchester households to benefit from £97million energy efficiency improvements

Over 5,000 social homes across Greater Manchester are to receive energy efficiency improvements after the city-region was granted £37m from Wave Two of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.

The Government funding – granted by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero – will see 5,482 homes benefit from measures such as improved insulation, air source heat pumps, solar panels, draughtproofing, ventilation and heating controls.

These works will lead to estimated benefits including:

• Annual energy savings of 26,895,921 kWh for the city-region
• Average annual bill saving of £276.78 per home
• Over 3,500 jobs and 60 apprentices supported in Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester Combined Authority led a consortium of 18 Registered Providers of Social Housing from across the city-region in its successful bid, with these partner organisations committing a further £60m of their own funding towards the project. Work will commence in April and be completed by September 2025, with improvements being made to social housing in every district of Greater Manchester.

Cllr Martyn Cox, GMCA lead for the Green City Region and waste and recycling, 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. 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.

“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.”

Greater Manchester was also awarded funding from Wave One in November 2021, kicking off a £19.6 million programme of energy efficiency improvements to benefit over 1,000 social properties.   

Lord Callanan, Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance, said: “This investment will help thousands of households to heat their homes for less, keep them warm for longer and could save hundreds on their annual energy bill.

“The green energy sector is growing, and this funding will support green jobs and provide the training needed to deliver these vital upgrades to homes.”

Article Published: 22/03/2023 14:53 PM