Issued by City of York Council
Vulnerable residents in York could be offered additional grant funding towards their energy bills, if City of York Council partners up with local authorities in the Leeds City Region (LCR).
City of York Council’s cabinet is being asked to approve the report which sets out in detail how the Green Deal can benefit residents over the next three years and beyond. The Green Deal is one of the Government’s flagship initiatives which will operate by providing energy efficiency and other works at no up-front cost to the householder across all tenures and businesses.
The scheme aims, in partnership with a private sector partner, to drive competition in the market, improve take up, to try and ensure that more vulnerable residents are offered additional grant funding (through the Energy Company Obligation) and could help drive down overall energy prices. The LCR option will allow the council to focus on helping the more vulnerable residents.
The costs of the improvements will be met by a Green Deal loan attached to the property. This loan is repaid by the savings made from the property’s electricity and heating bills as a result of having the energy efficiency measures installed. This is an innovative and significant step change from the previous grant culture.
Part of the Green Deal ensures the annual financial savings made as a result of the installed Green Deal measures must be greater then the annual loan repayment – therefore the net cost to householder/ business will always be zero.
In some cases, especially where the properties are hard to treat, the financial savings alone will not cover the costs of the loan. To overcome this, an Energy Company Obligation (ECO) has been developed which will pay for efficiency improvements.
In a joint statement, Cllr Dave Merrett, cabinet member for Transport, Planning and Sustainability and Cllr Tracey Simpson–Laing, Cabinet Member for Heath, Housing and Adult Social Services at City of York Council, said: “The scheme involves all Leeds City Region councils, including York, Leeds and Bradford and it continues our work in this area, which has already helped about 3,500 York homeowners and private tenants feel warmer by the installation of loft and/or cavity wall insulation.
“Helping us to tackle fuel poverty, create healthier warmer homes, and address the worrying Climate change challenge.”
Cabinet is being asked to agree in principle the release of £41,000 towards the total procurement stage cost at a meeting on Tuesday 2 April.
This agreement will also see the city sign a memorandum of understanding. In addition to the procurement funding, a further £5,000 is recommended to support the collation and analysis of data to target properties in fuel poverty or that are hard to treat. If the Green Deal goes ahead it is expected that there will be measures in 615-1,230 homes over the first three years. It is hoped that the scheme will see employment opportunities and local training across the city.
Proposals will now be put before Cabinet at a meeting on Tuesday April 2 at the council’s West Offices. To view the report please go here.
This content has not been created by YorkMix but by one of our trusted news sources. YorkMix is not responsible for the accuracy of the text.