Sheffield City Council has secured £3,406,008 of government funding to help improve energy efficiency and decarbonise homes across the city.
Approximately 221 private sector homes will be affected by the scheme.
The scheme targets low income, poorly insulated homes to improve the energy performance rating to band C.
The project is planned to run for 3 years, between Apr ‘25 to Mar ‘28. In the first year of the scheme, it has potential to save £60,490 in household energy bills.
The council hopes that the scheme can help reduce carbon emissions by supporting sustainable heating solutions and energy-efficient improvements.
Nathan Robinson, Service Manager for Housing, said at a meeting of the city council’s Housing Policy Committee on 24 April: “I think it is ambitious in terms of what we are aiming to achieve, and it is deliverable.
“The energy efficiency improvements to some of Sheffield’s low income and poorly insulated homes is directly contributing toward tackling fuel poverty.”
Decarbonising Sheffield’s housing is a core element that the council wants to focus on with domestic housing representing 33% of the city’s emissions.
Sheffield City Council outlined the main goal they want to achieve with the scheme, they said “Create new jobs and skills in low-carbon through the demand for home retrofitting and sustainable infrastructure”.
Council Mike Chaplin said: “It’s really good to see this on the agenda at a time when some governments on the other side of the Atlantic are in denial of climate change.”
Councillor Paul Turpin was also another councillor who was pleased with the decarbonisation scheme saying he thinks it’s an “excellent plan”.
Councillor Turpin added: “A couple of years ago, I did actually threaten to go on strike if we didn’t get this onto the work plan.”
The council plans to contact households directly to inform them of the scheme in hopes of receiving approval from the public.
The council further highlighted that eligibility is determined by only the tenants’ circumstances, to ensure privately rented homes aren’t unfairly excluded from the scheme.
To sign off the discussion surrounding the decarbonisation scheme, all councillors unanimously approved the plan to be put into place.
