Council rushing help keep Bedford homes warmer using government funding

Bedford Borough Council is rushing to allocate government funding to help make residents’ homes more energy efficient this winter.

Sustainable Warmth is a government grant scheme designed to fund energy-efficiency upgrades for residents who are most likely to be impacted by rising energy bills.

Paul Pace, chief officer environment, told the Climate Change Committee (Monday, November 14) that the council is concentrating on those living in private domestic dwellings ideally with an EPC rating of E, F or G.

An EPC rating is a review of a property’s energy efficiency, and ranges from A (very efficient) to G (inefficient).

“Obviously they have to meet some other criteria in relation to the income of the household as well,” he said.

“This initial scheme has been launched very late by the government and it runs to March 2023, which doesn’t give us a lot of time.

“We’re targeting individual streets in the borough to try to make it as efficient and effective as possible.

“If we can get a number of people signed up in one street…the installers can go to one location and concentrate on doing a number of properties at the same time,” he said.

Mr Pace added that the short time period, the huge demand and the shortage of suppliers and installers has made this scheme “challenging”.

Councillor Lucy Bywater (Green, Castle) asked if not having an EPC certificate was an issue for those wishing to apply.

Mr Pace replied that with data available to it, the council can generally tell a property’s EPC rating.

“That’s why we’ve been able to just target those properties with an EPC rating of E, F and Gs,” he said.

Registration for the Sustainable Warmth scheme is open until December 31. More information can be found on the council’s Sustainable Warmth webpage. www.bedford.gov.uk/environmental-issues/sustainability/sustainability-projects/sustainable-warmth

If residents are struggling to cope with the rising cost of living they can see what kind of support may be available to them on the council’s website.