Wiltshire Council secures Government funding to improve energy efficiency of homes

The funding is part of the Government’s Department of Energy Security and Net Zero’s Home Upgrade Grant Phase 2 scheme. It will be spent on retrofitting up to 210 Wiltshire homes by March 2025, supporting the council’s ambition for the county to be carbon-neutral by 2030.

In 2021, the council successfully secured almost £550,000, which was used to improve 90 of its least energy-efficient council homes. This additional funding will allow the council to support retrofit for owner-occupied and privately rented homes that are not connected to mains gas and are EPC band D-G subject to household income levels.

A whole house retrofit takes each house in its own right. It considers the fabric, the heating and hot water requirements, ventilation and the people living in the property to establish the correct measures to implement for that individual property.

Some of the measures deployed to retrofit a property include:

Energy efficiency measures include wall, loft and underfloor insulation, low-carbon heating technologies such as heat pumps, and smart devices such as smart heating controls.

Cllr Nick Holder, Wiltshire Council Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change, said: “Successfully securing this funding demonstrates the scope of our ambitions for the county. We are always looking for opportunities to decrease carbon emissions and this funding will help us to build on our ongoing work to make Wiltshire homes as energy efficient as possible, which during the current cost-of-living crisis is more important than ever.

“Our aim is for Wiltshire to be a place where we are on the path to carbon neutral and to take responsibility for the environment. As a council we continue to lead from the front, and hopefully inspire others to take action.”

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.”

More information about the scheme can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/18-billion-awarded-to-boost-energy-efficiency-and-cut-emissions-of-homes-and-public-buildings-across-england.

During a recent peer review challenge by the Local Government Association, it was stated that “The council (Wiltshire Council) is excelling in work to address climate change – the council’s work to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change is impressive, with many activities that would be considered exceptional in other organisations being seen very much as the ‘day job’.”