Council approves £6m to insulate hundreds of homes and cut fuel bills

Two plans for tackling heat loss and bringing down bills in council and private homes were heard at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday evening.

The first scheme saw cabinet members agree to spend up to £3m on loft and cavity wall insulation for council homes. With 1st Choice Insulations Ltd given the contract from April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2027.

The contract also includes delivering insect infestation treatment to roof timbers, improving ventilation to roof spaces, mould treatment works and the replacement of insulated loft hatches.

A report to the cabinet said the authority hopes to help between 400-500 homes a year through to the end of the contract.

Gail Harris, cabinet member for social housing, said it was a “big investment” in council homes, that would improve energy efficiency and reduce their carbon footprints.

The cabinet also agreed to award a £3.1m contract to help deliver insulation to 200 private homes in Norwich.

The contract, funded through the government’s sustainable warmth grant scheme, will go to the energy giant E.On and can also be used for installing solar panels.

Emma Hampton said the scheme will focus on low-income households and areas of higher fuel poverty.

She said the scheme should save around 200,000kg of CO2 every year and contribute to £250,000 in bill savings.

Emma Hampton is cabinet member for climate change at Norwich City Council (Image: Labour Party)

Green Party group leader at City Hall Lucy Galvin praised the money both schemes, calling the latter “amazing” but questioned if other councils were delivering more.

A council officer said that the numbers were similar to other councils and they would keep asking the government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to keep the funding going.

Both schemes were unanimously approved by the cabinet.

The council says the environmental upgrades support Norwich’s recently-revised target of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2045.