WEST MIDLANDS Mayor Richard Parker has launched the region’s most ambitious plan yet to improve living standards and tackle fuel poverty for thousands of low-income households.
Up to 10,000 of the oldest and coldest social and privately-owned homes in the region will be upgraded to make them warmer and cheaper to run.
This is thanks to a £167million energy efficiency fund announced by the Mayor.
The funding will help residents with the cost of living by bringing thousands of homes up to modern energy efficiency standards, cutting their fuel usage.
Homes will be fitted with insulation, new doors and windows, solar panels, and state-of-the-art greener and smarter heating systems.
Improving the quality of housing is one of the Mayor’s priorities with an estimated 254,000 West Midlands households in fuel poverty- one of the highest rates in the country. The region also has some of the country’s least energy efficient homes.
This is the West Midlands Combined Authority’s (WMCA) largest-ever home energy efficiency upgrade programme.
As part of funding package, the WMCA will spend £36million to ease pressure on the finances of councils, schools and colleges and other public sector organisations such as the NHS and emergency services by making their buildings cheaper to heat and power.
The funding will also unlock further investment in housing of around £80million from councils and their housing providers.
The Mayor announced his plans during a visit to Wednesbury where 200 social homes built between the First and Second World Wars are now being improved.
The Mayor said: “I pledged to deliver a mass insulation programme to make thousands of our homes warmer, safer, greener and cheaper to run. Today I am delivering on that pledge as we launch the most ambitious programme the region has ever seen.
“This funding from Government will allow us to upgrade homes, colleges and schools – cutting carbon emissions, cutting bills and most importantly, lifting thousands of families out of fuel poverty.
“We’re not just improving homes; we’re improving lives, and building a greener, fairer West Midlands for everyone.”
Holly Farmer is one of the Friar Park residents who are having their homes improved – after her gas and electricity bills doubled over the last three years.
Thanks to WMCA funding, new insulation and solar panels to power her home with renewable energy have been installed at the 1930s semi detatched house where she lives with her two children.
Work to make existing homes and public buildings more energy efficient with lower carbon emissions will support the region’s bid to be net zero by 2041.
It will also create jobs for local people in supply chains by creating a new and sustained demand for energy efficiency products and services.
Almost 1,000 people have already successfully completed retrofit training courses funded by the WMCA since May 2024 so they have the skills needed to install low carbon technology and insulation in local homes.
Rachel Jones, chief executive Act on Energy, the energy advice charity, said: “This new funding is a welcome relief for thousands of households across the region who are still struggling with high energy bills and cold and damp homes.
“The cheapest energy is the energy we don’t use, so conserving heat in the home with insulation, combined with greener energy technology will not only help to keep residents warmer and safer, but also help to lower hills for the longer term.”
Anyone living within the West Midlands area can phone Act on Energy for free on 0800 988 2881, for impartial energy advice.
