More hard to heat homes in West Lothian will have insulation installed this year after the council won £1 million backing for a project which has already seen improvements to more than a thousand houses.
Marjory Mackie, Housing Strategy and Development Manager, told a meeting of the Housing Services Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel that confirmation had been received of £1.025m for 2023/24 to enable the council to continue its work in Dedridge, Livingston.
Funding is provided by Holyrood to all councils to deliver energy efficiency improvement works, with a focus on solid wall insulation, to privately owned homes to reduce levels of fuel poverty.
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There is set criteria for who is eligible for the funded wall insulation.
Funding is capped and cannot be used for the council’s own stock of homes. West Lothian Council has its own programme that targets council homes.
In a report to committee Mrs Mackie said: “By May 2023 a total of 1,358 privately owned properties will have received External Wall Insulation (EWI) through Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland (HEEPS) funding, whilst an additional 754 council properties have received EWI as part of Capital upgrade programmes.”
Last year, the council was given over £1m HEEPS: Area Based Schemes funding from the Scottish Government which was used to target 86 privately owned homes in Quentin Rise and Palmer Rise, Livingston.
Since 2016, areas to have benefited include, Deans, Dedridge, Knightsridge, Howden, Ladywell and Eliburn in Livingston. Mid Calder, Pumpherston, Longridge and Armadale.
Mrs Mackie said: “Good progress continues to be made. It is proposed to continue to prioritise funding to households in the streets that are identified to have the highest probability of families living in fuel poverty in hard to treat properties. Norman Rise is Livingston will now be included as part of this programme.
Executive councillor for Housing Services, George Paul said: “It is good to know that many households are benefiting from this work and that our housing team are helping to alleviate fuel poverty in West Lothian.”
To find out more about the insulation programme contact the council on:-
www.westlothian.gov.uk/costofliving
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