Millions granted to Sandwell Council to boost energy efficiency of homes

Millions of pounds has been accepted by Sandwell Council to reduce fuel poverty and improve energy efficiency in the local authority’s social housing stock. Grant funding of up to £5.5 million from the government’s department for energy security and net zero will be spent on homes across the borough, according to a report debated at a cabinet meeting.

The grant funding – as part of a consortium of bids by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) – will improve 2,076 homes in the region. In Sandwell, 625 properties will benefit.

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The measures will include external wall insulation, improved flat roof insulation, and cavity wall insulation. The authority hopes the improvements will increase the energy performance of social rented homes and reduce carbon emissions

In particular, the council has focused on improving homes’ Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating to a C or above. In Sandwell, 17,779 homes have an energy performance certificate of D or below – representing 63 per cent of all social housing stock.

The grant provides funding for up to 50 per cent of total project costs. The council will contribute a minimum of half of additional money to the project – mainly £16 million from its Housing Revenue Account (HRA) – a pot of money dedicated to social housing – to match fund the government’s offer.

The project is part of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF), a government initiative to reduce carbon emissions to net-zero by 2050. The pot of money from the government has allocated up to £800 million of funding to support the installation of energy performance measures in social homes in England.