Council-owned homes to get energy-saving upgrades

Hundreds of homes rented from North Yorkshire Council are to be given energy-saving upgrades in a bid to help tenants save money.

The improvements would be rolled out at 150 social housing properties to tackle issues in homes affected by poor quality insulation and ineffective heating systems, the authority said.

The changes could include retrofitting homes with measures such as solar panels and new doors and windows to remove draughts.

North Yorkshire Council said it was part of its plan to become the first local authority in the UK to be carbon negative by 2040.

Many of the properties identified for the upgrade are in rural areas where homes are often older and have poor insulation, including in villages around Harrogate, Selby and Richmond.

Barbara Rickard, who rents her three-bedroom home in Harrogate from North Yorkshire Council, said she had already recently benefited from an energy-efficient upgrade.

She explained that as part of the improvements, her coal and gas fires had been replaced, new doors and windows had been fitted and solar panels installed.

She said: “Since the retrofit, there has been a significant difference in my home.

"I have heating and hot water all the time and I don’t have to struggle with coal or cleaning the fire out.

“The whole experience has made my life a lot easier with more space, less cleaning and saving money, which makes me happy."

The council's upgrades have in part been boosted by the latest tranche of the government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, from which the authority received £1.7m in funding in March.

North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for climate change, Councillor Greg White, said: “Improving the energy efficiency of homes across the county is vital for protecting the environment and alleviating pressure on residents during this cost of living crisis."

A spokesperson for Align Property Partners, the council’s multi-disciplinary building design consultancy, said it had improved the energy efficiency of hundreds of homes across North Yorkshire and would work alongside the authority to support the rollout.

Ron Walton, Align managing director, said that with the removal of the winter fuel allowance it was a "great time to try and help with the bills".

"This will be accelerated next year, especially in social housing where people might not quite have the same money other people have," he added.

Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.