COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

Almost £2 million of funding from energy company E.ON is to be invested in a huge home improvement project in Nuneaton.

Working in partnership with the borough council, it will see properties that are not suitable for cavity wall insulation in the Barpool and Wembrook areas benefit from external wall insulation and in some cases loft insulation and a new central heating system.

Homes in Camp Hill have already benefitted from the programme with the scheme starting in the area earlier this year.

Coun Tony Lloyd, the cabinet member responsible for housing, said: “Attracting this level of funding in Nuneaton is a huge achievement for both the council and residents. The properties we are targeting have not been able to benefit from previous insulation programmes because of the way they are constructed.

“ External wall insulation offers a solution to this, with residents of these properties benefitting from lower energy bills at the same time as improving the appearance of homes in these communities.”

Jon Kirby, energy efficiency manager at E.ON, said: “Through our work in Nuneaton we’re able to help whole communities and really start to make a difference in building energy efficiency into our everyday lives.”

Cut price energy bills and free insulation offered to 4,000 Coventry homes

FOUR thousand homes across Coventry are being offered money off their energy bills and free insulation as part of a new scheme from the city council and E.ON.

The two organisations have launched the project to tackle fuel poverty, where more than 10 per cent of a household’s income is spent on keeping their home warm.

A staggering 28,000 homes across Coventry are in fuel poverty and 17,000 of those are claiming benefits, making them eligible for support.

By cross referencing the council’s benefits database with E.ON’s customer database, they reckon 4,000 households could qualify for a £130 discount on their annual bill, free insulation, a £100 cheque from E.ON and a home visit from an energy assessor.

Letters have been sent to those homes over the last three weeks.

But despite E.ON offering the deal as part of their carbon-cutting obligations, the council reckons only 10 per cent of households contacted will take up the offer.

Andrew Barrow, from E.ON, said: “Those people who need it the most are often the hardest to reach and the least likely to respond and take you up on the offer.

“But this is worth it – it’s free and it does what it says on the tin.”

Two years ago Coventry City Council sent a plane over the city with thermal imaging technology to create a map showing heat-leaking buildings.

Michael Checkley, sustainability manager at the council, said: “We sent letters out to people who had hot roofs who were also claiming benefits.

“Nearly 1,000 people had work done on their homes as a result of that.

“What we’re now saying is if you’ve had one of these letters, please get in touch.

“We need people to respond by the end of July so do get in quickly.”

Twenty one per cent of homes in Coventry (equivalent to 28,000) are in fuel poverty – up on the national average of 19 per cent.

E.ON, like other energy companies, has an obligation to improve energy efficiency, targeting their most vulnerable and needy customers.

But of the 17,000 homes in the city that are not only in fuel poverty but also claiming benefits, 13,000 are not E.ON customers so aren’t being targeted by the scheme.

The city council, however, is referring to it as a “pilot scheme” and says it will be talking to other energy companies over the coming weeks, hoping to launch similar projects with British Gas, NPower, EDF and others.

If you think you could be eligible for help with your fuel bill contact the council on 024 7678 6603.