A consortium has been successful in a bid for £5.1 million funding to improve social housing across Cumbria and Lancashire.
The Cumbria Social Housing Consortium, led by the Eden District Council’s green homes team, has secured the match funding from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero for a £10.3m Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (Wave 2.1) project.
The consortium comprises of the council and social landlords Eden Housing Association, South Lakes Housing Association, Westfield Housing Association, Progress Housing Association and Lune Valley Rural Housing Association.
The make-up of the consortium means that properties right across the area will benefit, including those in Eden, South Lakeland, Allerdale and Lancashire.
A consortium spokesman from Eden District Council said: “We are thrilled. This is a significant step forward in our efforts to tackle fuel poverty and reduce carbon emissions in the area.
“The funding will make a real difference to the lives of social housing tenants, as well as contributing towards our net zero ambitions.
“We look forward to working with our consortium partners to deliver these vital improvements and create more sustainable homes for our communities.”
The Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund supports registered providers across the country in upgrading their properties to an Energy Performance Certificate rating of C, with a focus on those with the worst energy ratings.
Under the scheme, registered providers contribute half the costs and receive the other half as match funding from the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero.
The grant is expected to be hugely beneficial in tackling fuel poverty and carbon consumption in Cumbria.
Social housing properties benefitting from the scheme can receive significant upgrades worth up to £34,000 to improve energy efficiency, such as loft and wall insulation, heating system upgrades and window replacement.
Eligible households will be contacted individually in the coming weeks by their social housing provider with details of the scheme.
