Thousands of Manchester homes are set to become more energy efficient as part of a round of upgrades.
The retrofitting is part of the city’s target to become net zero carbon by 2038, and will also improve the health of residents and reduce the cost of running the home. The plan, which will improve 2,100 properties, is set to be approved by council bosses today (July 12).
Of those 2,100, some 1,600 are council-owned properties at a cost of £50 million. Another 500 private low-income homeowners will be able to take advantage of a £10 million grant to invest in their houses.
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“Housing is a major source of carbon usage and therefore investing in energy efficiency measures is a key element of our journey to become a zero carbon city by 2038,” said Gavin White, Manchester City Council’s executive member for housing and development ahead of the full council meeting today (July 12). “This £60m represents the biggest investment in low carbon retrofit works in our history and is testament to our commitment to reducing our collective carbon emissions.
“The challenge is significant but one we need to tackle head on. We have around 70,000 social rented homes in the city – 16,000 owned by the Council - and we have committed to retrofitting 60 percent of those that we own by 2032.
“We also need residents to come on this journey with us. These works will require us to work directly with Council tenants and private owners - and although inevitably there will be some short term disruption, the end product is warm, healthier, more efficient – and ultimately cheaper to run – homes for our residents.”
In all, £49.7 million will be invested in 1,603 Council-owned homes to improve sustainability through better insulation, solar panelling, new boilers or heating systems, and air and ground heat pumps. The whole programme is expected to be completed in September 2025.
A further £10 million from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) Home Upgrade Grant fund will be provided to help improve the EPC rating of 500 privately owned homes from D or below to C.
The funding targets properties which do not currently use gas as their main heating fuel and those meeting other criteria set by DESNZ. This programme of work will begin later in 2023 and will be completed by March 2025.
You can see the full agenda for the Manchester City Council meeting here. It begins at 10am on July 12.
