MORE than a 100 council-owned properties in Long Lawford and Rokeby will be cheaper and easier to heat, if a Rugby Borough Council bid for funding is successful.
If approved, the project will see energy efficiency improvements to 112 “Wimpy No-Fines” properties through external wall insulation. The works will be free of charge for the tenants, funded through a grant of nearly £1.1million from the government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and match funding through the council’s climate change and home improvement reserves.
The works aim to maximise comfort and reduce energy use while maximising the home’s suitability for low carbon heating in future. T
he Wimpy No-Fines properties have been selected due to their low energy performance due to solid wall construction, along with their location in some of the more deprived neighbourhoods in the borough.
Fuel poverty in Long Lawford and Rokeby is around 20 per cent. This compares to a borough-wide average of nearly 14.5 per cent and a national average of just over 13 per cent.
If successful, the project will be delivered through a partnership with E.On via a framework agreement.
RBC homes nad climate change spokeswoman Coun Emma Crane said: “Completing this project will give some of our lower income residents healthier outcomes and warmer homes that will be cheaper to heat.
“The project also contributes towards the council’s climate change objectives as set out in the Corporate Strategy 2021-24, and particularly, the ambition to reduce the carbon footprint of the council’s housing stock by 2027.
“The improvements will help households reduce their heating demand, mitigating some of the effects of the current global energy crisis.”
If the grant application is approved at the council’s meeting of the cabinet on January 9, the council expects to hear if its bid has been successful by the end of March. Works will have to be complete by the end of March 2025.
