SOCIAL housing across the region is set to become more energy-efficient thanks to £7.5million funding.
Led by the Energy Capital team at the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), seven partners made a successful bid for a share of the Government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund to retrofit social housing to upgrade 622 properties across the region.
As well as helping the region to achieve net zero by 2041, the funding will provide warmer homes for tenants, tackle fuel poverty and reduce the threat from energy price hikes.
Councillor Ian Courts, leader of Solihull Council and WMCA portfolio holder for environment and energy, added: “Homes are the highest carbon emitters in the region, accounting for 39 per cent of emissions, that’s ahead of industry and transport.
“So, it is great news that through the WMCA and its partners we will be able to support our programme of investment into our housing stock and help people live in homes that will be both warmer and more energy-efficient.”
The WMCA’s consortium partners are Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, Solihull Community Housing, City of Wolverhampton Council, Community Housing Group, Midland Heart, Orbit Housing Group and Wrekin Housing Trust.
The total cost of the retrofitting project is £14.7m, with the balance funded from housing association and local authority budgets.
The funding programme expects work to be completed by March 2023.
This funding follows on from the £2.86m awarded to the WMCA last year under the Sustainable Warmth Competition for housing retrofit and is part of the WMCA’s ground-breaking ‘SMART’ Hub initiative.
The SMART Hub (Sustainable Market for Affordable Retrofit Technologies) has been created by the WMCA as part of its investment to deliver its net zero targets.
