Britain's 1,000 coldest neighbourhoods revealed - see if your town is in top 50 here

Britain's top 1,000 coldest neighbourhoods have been identified, energy crisis hotspots where people on the lowest incomes are living in the country’s most heat-leaking homes.

Birmingham, Blackpool, Bradford, Bristol, County Durham, Enfield, Luton, Rhonda Cynon Taf and Swale have the highest concentrations of coldest neighbourhoods in England and Wales.

All five of top coldest areas are in West Yorkshire with Oakworth Road and West Lane in Keighley the area suffering the most, followed by Kings Cross in Halifax, Keighley Central and East, Pellon East in Halifax and Girlington in west Bradford.

All of these areas have a population of at least 70% of people of colour and all fell way below the country’s average efficiency rating of 67.

The UK has some of the worst insulated homes in Europe, making them expensive to heat as warmth escapes through walls, windows, roofs and doors.

Birmingham is among the coldest neighbourhoods in the UK (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Last month, a coroner said that the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who died after “chronic exposure” to mould created by damp in his home, should be a “defining moment” for the UK’s housing sector.

Friends of the Earth, who carried out the research, is calling on the UK government to commit to a street-by-street insulation programme to keep people warm and well, while cutting bills and harmful carbon emissions.

People of colour are more than twice as likely to live in some of England’s coldest neighbourhoods, according to their analysis.

Bradford also has a high concentration of cold homes (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Those with disabilities, the elderly, and households living on low incomes are also among those disproportionately impacted by the energy crisis.

Catriona Currie, warm homes campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: “We’ve heard how people are making every adjustment they can to ease the enormous cost pressures they’re facing, and the cold is far from the only problem – damp issues are putting health and wellbeing at risk too.

“No one should have to live in a freezing home, just so they can afford to pay for food or meet other rising living costs.”

Photojournalist Grey Hutton visited some of the hardest-hit areas with a thermal imaging camera (Grey Hutton)

Friends of the Earth calculated the list first identifying energy crisis hotspots using statistics on consumption and fuel prices and then comparing with data on incomes.

To find the ‘coldest neighbourhoods’ within these hotspots Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) statistics, which show the average energy efficiency rating for homes (from A to G).

Oakworth Road in Keighley, which topped the list, had the highest number of homes rated just F and G at 12.6%. The average rating in England and Wales is D.

Areas of Bristol also made the list (Getty Images)

Photojournalist Grey Hutton visited some of the hardest-hit areas with a thermal imaging camera to illustrate the homes hardest to heat. These neighbourhoods are the coldest due to low energy efficiency ratings, making energy use and bills higher than average, and where most people are also living on low incomes.

He found families where poorly insulated, heat-leaking homes are proving not just impossible to keep warm but are often riddled with damp issues and putting health and wellbeing at risk too.

The camera illustrates the homes hardest to heat (Grey Hutton)

Iqra, a 21-year-old living with her family spoke of the difficulty of retaining heat in her poorly-insulated home. She lives in the Broomfields and East Bowling area of Bradford, West Yorkshire, where the majority of residents (over 90%) are people of colour and 59% are under 18.

She said: “Our insulation is terrible. Everything is just escaping. We do have radiators but they do nothing for us. We have to turn the kitchen one off and the bathroom window doesn’t close properly, so whatever heat is in there we just lose it.

“Our kitchen is absolutely horrible. We’ve stopped covering the damp up now.

The warmth from Houghton Towers looms over Halifax at night (Grey Hutton)

“My little sister’s asthma started last year. We went to the doctor’s and they gave her the inhalers, but how much can you do?”

78-year-old Audrey is a homeowner in Rhyl. She is disabled and has several health issues including arthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and has recently had a triple heart bypass and hip replacement. She only heats one room in her house - her bedroom. Her neighbourhood in Rhyl is one of the top 10 coldest neighbourhoods in Wales.

Cold homes can be a problem for people's health (Stock photo) (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

She said: “I live upstairs because I prefer to keep to one room in the winter, especially at my age. “It’s about £20 a night to have the heating on. I only had it on for about 2 hours the other night and it was £20. I’ve been having to use a[n electric] heater in my room which is a bit cheaper.

“Even when I put this heater on it’s still cold. I’ve got no circulation in my feet or my hands. “Living like this isn’t okay, because I get depressed in my bedroom.”

Many areas in the UK have heat-leaking homes (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Catriona Currie, warm homes campaigner at Friends of the Earth, added: “Harrowing stories like this are shamefully all too common right now. We have millions of people facing an incredibly bleak winter ahead, and with the festive season right around the corner.

“Rapidly rolling out a street-by-street scheme to insulate our heat-leaking homes, prioritising those in most need first, is one of the quickest and cheapest ways to bring down energy bills and cut harmful carbon emissions.

“The UK government must not delay this essential action to keep people warm and well.”

All five of top coldest areas are in West Yorkshire (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Neighbourhood	Local authority	Region	Average energy efficiency of homes in neighbourhood (below 68 is poor)
Keighley Oakworth Road & West Lane	Bradford	Yorkshire and The Humber	49.98
King Cross	Calderdale	Yorkshire and The Humber	50.45
Keighley Central & East	Bradford	Yorkshire and The Humber	50.82
Pellon East	Calderdale	Yorkshire and The Humber	50.9
Girlington	Bradford	Yorkshire and The Humber	51.39
Toller Lane & Infirmary	Bradford	Yorkshire and The Humber	51.48
Manningham & Lister Park	Bradford	Yorkshire and The Humber	51.49
Wainfleet All Saints	East Lindsey	East Midlands	51.53
Greet & Sparkhill South	Birmingham	West Midlands	51.82
Brown Royd	Bradford	Yorkshire and The Humber	52.41
Nelson Bradley	Pendle	North West	52.47
Tinsley & Carbrook	Sheffield	Yorkshire and The Humber	52.5
Crabtree & Fir Vale	Sheffield	Yorkshire and The Humber	52.59
Shearbridge & University	Bradford	Yorkshire and The Humber	52.73
Barkerend East	Bradford	Yorkshire and The Humber	53.25
Nelson West	Pendle	North West	53.27
Bordesley	Birmingham	West Midlands	53.29
Canterbury	Bradford	Yorkshire and The Humber	53.39
Scholemoor	Bradford	Yorkshire and The Humber	53.49
Accrington West	Hyndburn	North West	53.53
Thornbury	Bradford	Yorkshire and The Humber	53.54
Barkerend East	Bradford	Yorkshire and The Humber	53.67
Small Heath Park	Birmingham	West Midlands	53.7
Sparkhill North	Birmingham	West Midlands	53.96
Shearbridge & University	Bradford	Yorkshire and The Humber	54.01
Hay Mills & Tyseley	Birmingham	West Midlands	54.03
Handsworth South	Birmingham	West Midlands	54.12
Lockwood	Kirklees	Yorkshire and The Humber	54.19
Ward End & Bromford West	Birmingham	West Midlands	54.2
Sparkhill North	Birmingham	West Midlands	54.2
Small Heath Park	Birmingham	West Midlands	54.22
Birchfield East	Birmingham	West Midlands	54.28
Bordesley	Birmingham	West Midlands	54.31
Crabtree & Fir Vale	Sheffield	Yorkshire and The Humber	54.42
Bordesley	Birmingham	West Midlands	54.44
Bordesley Green North	Birmingham	West Midlands	54.5
Cross Flats Park & Garnets	Leeds	Yorkshire and The Humber	54.52
Belchers Lane & Eastfield Road	Birmingham	West Midlands	54.57
Bordesley	Birmingham	West Midlands	54.57
Handsworth South	Birmingham	West Midlands	54.65
King Cross	Calderdale	Yorkshire and The Humber	54.73
Saltley West	Birmingham	West Midlands	54.78
Belchers Lane & Eastfield Road	Birmingham	West Midlands	54.84
Accrington West	Hyndburn	North West	54.86
Manningham & Lister Park	Bradford	Yorkshire and The Humber	55
Brown Royd	Bradford	Yorkshire and The Humber	55.05
Handsworth South	Birmingham	West Midlands	55.08
Bankfoot	Bradford	Yorkshire and The Humber	55.1
Wensley Fold	Blackburn with Darwen	North West	55.14
Gravelly Hill & South Erdington	Birmingham	West Midlands	55.17
Moor Green & Cannon Hill	Birmingham	West Midlands	55.19
Little Bromwich	Birmingham	West Midlands	55.23
Great Horton & Brackenhill	Bradford	Yorkshire and The Humber	55.25
South Promenade & Seasiders Way	Blackpool	North West	55.27
Keighley Central & East	Bradford	Yorkshire and The Humber	55.28
Highfields South	Leicester	East Midlands	55.3
Summerfield	Birmingham	West Midlands	55.3
Small Heath Park	Birmingham	West Midlands	55.4
Middlemore	Birmingham	West Midlands	55.44
Bordesley	Birmingham	West Midlands	55.45
Broomfields & East Bowling	Bradford	Yorkshire and The Humber	55.45
Normanton North & Peartree	Derby	East Midlands	55.47
Nelson West	Pendle	North West	55.51
Little Bromwich	Birmingham	West Midlands	55.51
Balsall Heath East	Birmingham	West Midlands	55.52
Wolverhampton Central	Wolverhampton	West Midlands	55.53
Blakenhall	Wolverhampton	West Midlands	55.56
Bordesley Green North	Birmingham	West Midlands	55.62
Greet & Sparkhill South	Birmingham	West Midlands	55.62
Barclay Hills & Trinity	Burnley	North West	55.69
Sparkhill North	Birmingham	West Midlands	55.69
Clacton Central	Tendring	East of England	55.73
Handsworth West	Birmingham	West Midlands	55.74
Central Darlington	Darlington	North East	55.75
Pellon East	Calderdale	Yorkshire and The Humber	55.88
Small Heath Park	Birmingham	West Midlands	55.91
Brierfield & Reedley	Pendle	North West	55.98
Bromford	Birmingham	West Midlands	55.98
Florence	Stoke-on-Trent	West Midlands	56.01
Shearbridge & University	Bradford	Yorkshire and The Humber	56.02
Nelson Bradley	Pendle	North West	56.05
Central Blackpool	Blackpool	North West	56.13
Normanton North & Peartree	Derby	East Midlands	56.13
Belchers Lane & Eastfield Road	Birmingham	West Midlands	56.15
Washwood Heath	Birmingham	West Midlands	56.16
Allenton & Osmaston	Derby	East Midlands	56.18
Gravelly Hill & South Erdington	Birmingham	West Midlands	56.18
Salem	Oldham	North West	56.24
Broomfields & East Bowling	Bradford	Yorkshire and The Humber	56.25
Handsworth South	Birmingham	West Midlands	56.27
Stockland Green - Marsh Hill	Birmingham	West Midlands	56.33
Harehills North	Leeds	Yorkshire and The Humber	56.35
Druids Heath	Birmingham	West Midlands	56.42
Wolverhampton Central	Wolverhampton	West Midlands	56.42
Old Colwyn & Llanddulas	Conwy	Wales	56.43
North Shore	Blackpool	North West	56.48
Central Bradford & Barkerend West	Bradford	Yorkshire and The Humber	56.52
Rose Hill & Castleward	Derby	East Midlands	56.53
Kingstanding South East	Birmingham	West Midlands	56.55
Manningham & Lister Park	Bradford	Yorkshire and The Humber	56.55