Nine in 10 eligible Nottinghamshire homes received energy-saving upgrades under Government scheme
Nine in 10 Nottinghamshire homes deemed eligible for new energy-saving measures under a Government grant scheme have had them installed, new figures show.
The Green Homes Grant scheme saw the Government pledge millions to low-energy efficiency or low-income households, to allow them to make energy-saving changes to their homes.
Friends of the Earth welcomed the scheme but warned its progress has been ‘patchy and unequal’.
Some £500m was available across the first two phases of the scheme, with the first administered by local authorities after submissions were open between 2020 and 2022.
Now, new figures from the Department for Net Zero and Energy Security (DNZES) show 143 households in Nottinghamshire were approved for upgrades during the first phase of the scheme.
To qualify, households could be identified by the local authority or apply directly for a grant.
As of August, 144 separate measures had been installed in 129 Nottinghamshire homes – meaning 90 per cent of those identified in phase one have now been upgraded.
This was higher than the 69 per cent installation rate across England, where some 27,387 homes were signed up to the scheme and 23,821 individual measures were installed across 18,528 of them.
It was also higher than the 55 per cent average across the East Midlands.
Rosie Downes, head of campaigns at Friends of the Earth, said: "Upgrading the UK's poorly insulated housing stock is one of the quickest and most effective ways to cut carbon and reduce bills.
"While thousands of eligible homes have been upgraded under the scheme, delivery is patchy and unequal.
"The climate emergency and cost-of-living crisis mean we need a robust national plan to roll out energy efficiency upgrades consistently and fairly.
"This requires proper investment to make sure every home is warmer, cheaper to run and low-carbon."
The measures funded by the scheme include wall, loft and roof insulation, improvements to windows and doors, installing solar panels and fitting heat pumps.
The upgrades in Nottinghamshire included 19 solar panel deployments and 47 loft insulation installations.
Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said every home upgraded was a ‘step in the right direction’, but warned progress should ‘be delivered at speed and with the urgency the energy bills crisis deserves’.
He added: "Every winter spent in a cold damp home causes misery and health complications for millions of households.
"This is why the Government's Warm Homes Plan must be rooted in a ‘warmth first’ principle, treating a warm, dry and affordable-to-heat home as a basic human right.
"And upgrades to homes must come alongside reform to electricity pricing and moves to secure our energy supply in the future."
A DNZES spokesperson said: "The energy shocks of recent years have shown the urgent need to upgrade British homes.
"Our Warm Homes Plan will make them cheaper and cleaner to run, rolling out measures from new insulation to solar and heat pumps.
"We are investing £13.2bn to improve up to five million homes over this Parliament, helping families to cut their energy bills for good."