GCH invests £3.9 million in homes to cut carbon emissions
Gloucester City Homes will invest £3.9 million to improve the energy efficiency of around 130 homes in Gloucester, with the help of a government grant worth £1.5 million.
GCH was part of a consortium bid to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, led by Stroud District Council and including Cheltenham Borough Homes and Two Rivers Housing. The work will retrofit homes in Matson and St Pauls Court, including external wall insulation, cavity wall insulation, loft insulation, ventilation upgrades and window replacements.
The investment means that GCH can help cut tenants’ energy bills and carbon emissions, boost the green economy and improve the health and wellbeing of tenants.
The scheme is also good news for the green economy and retrofit sector in Gloucestershire, as GCH will employ a local site manager to oversee the project and support local SME businesses to develop a supply chain.
We are delighted to have secured Wave 2 funding together with our Gloucestershire-based consortium partners, building upon the success of the Wave 1 funding, the delivery of which is well underway. With energy prices soaring, it is more important than ever that we make sure our homes are fit for the future. Not only do schemes like this make homes more comfortable for tenants and reduce energy bills, they also help to minimise carbon emissions from domestic properties, a vital step towards supporting the country’s target to be net zero by 2050.”
This Gloucestershire-wide energy performance improvement project will mean improvements to 532 properties which currently have the lowest energy performance in the county’s social housing stock. The total award value for the whole consortium is £6.1 million towards total project costs of £17.4 million.
The Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund was a 2019 Conservative Manifesto which committed to a £3.8bn over a 10-year period to improve the energy performance of social rented homes, on the pathway to Net Zero 2050.
“One of my pledges in 2019 was for more energy efficient housing in Gloucester to reduce both my constituents’ energy bills but also carbon emissions in our city. So this award from government helps deliver this for Matson, which is good for our cost of living, our health and our environment.”