COUNCILLORS today (Wednesday October 21) look set to approve £530,000 worth of government funding to help households with an income below £30k make their homes greener and more energy efficient.
Qualifying households will be able to access a grant worth up to £10,000 to help support them with the costs of environmentally-friendly energy-saving measures such as external wall insulation, cavity wall insulation, roof insulation and heat pumps.
Coventry City Council applied for and secured funding from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy which supports the Council’s Climate Change objectives by reducing carbon emissions, reducing fuel poverty and supporting jobs.
The allocated funding for this first phase of their Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery Scheme, needs to be spent by the end of March 2021.
If approved at today’s jobs and regeneration cabinet member meeting the cash will be used to complement the council’s existing ‘Keeping Coventry Warm’ scheme supporting some of the city’s most vulnerable residents.
The Council will be working with a local energy conservation charity Act on Energy (AOE) to administer this grant funding.
To qualify for one of these grants, the home will have to be owner-occupied, the combined household income will have to have below £30,000 and the home will have to have an EPC rating of E, F or G.
Jobs and regeneration cabinet member Coun Jim O’Boyle, said: “Unfortunately, we know that a number of people in the city struggle to keep their homes warm in winter and this can have an adverse effect on their health.
“Reducing fuel poverty and supporting these vulnerable people remains a key aim of ours but this work will also help to reduce carbon emissions which will also be good for the environment.
“I’m very pleased that we have been allocated this extra funding and the extra measures that households will be able to install because of it will make a massive difference.
“In addition to the support this funding will offer the installation of these measures is also a real opportunity to create work for local businesses and as a result, local people. It’s a win-win for Coventry.”
To check whether you qualify and to find out how to apply please contact Act on Energy on 01789 333169 or [email protected].
For more details about Keep Coventry Warm and to see what support and advice is available, go to www.coventry.gov.uk/info/65/home_energy_and_warmth
