A LEADING housing association has been granted vital Government funding towards two North-East schemes that will reduce carbon emissions and help tenants save on their fuel bills.
North Star Housing Group has secured a total of £550,000 through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.
The funding will account for around 65 per cent of the cost of two projects: external wall insulation and associated works on 31 terraced properties in Darlington; and 12 ‘hard to treat’ properties in Middleton-in-Teesdale.
The successful bids were made by North Star’s asset team through the Tees Valley Combined Authority and Durham County Council.
The grants are the first of this size to be made under the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and will help North Star set off towards its long-term goal of meeting Government targets for all properties to be carbon zero by 2050.
Chris Harris, North Star’s Asset and Compliance Manager, said: “Securing this funding is a real milestone because it marks the beginning of our journey towards carbon zero, and it means we can help our tenants to reduce their bills at a time when fuel costs are rising steeply.
“The cost of major energy efficiency improvement works is huge, so we hope our success in this bid is just the start in accessing more funding in future to help us achieve our carbon reduction targets.”
It was announced in October that the Government has allocated £800m to the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund as part of a multi-billion pounds investment over three-years.
North Star is now working with contractors to progress the work in Darlington and Middleton-in-Teesdale as soon as possible. Dates for the beginning of the work, along with details of the locations, will be confirmed soon.