Residents in Illingworth, Halifax, benefit from energy-saving scheme by Calderdale-based Together Housing

By Adam Cheshire
Published 9th Nov 2022, 10:30 BST
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Families living in part of Halifax are among the first in the region to benefit from a new scheme designed to create warmer, efficient homes with lower energy bills.

Residents living in four blocks of low-rise flats in Illingworth will benefit from the works being carried out by Calderdale-based social housing provider Together Housing.

External wall insulation works are being carried out on the homes – a move which could help to save each flat, on average, £169-a-year on the energy bill.

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Harold Hebblewhite, a 72-year old resident who has benefited from the works, said: “With the temperatures dropping, we can already feel that it’s making a difference. I don’t feel the cold so much, but my wife does. And with the cost-of-living crisis, it’s very good to know that it will help with bills.

Harold Hebblewhite, a 72-year old Illingworth resident who will benefit from the works.Harold Hebblewhite, a 72-year old Illingworth resident who will benefit from the works.
Harold Hebblewhite, a 72-year old Illingworth resident who will benefit from the works.

“We knew there’d be a bit of drilling and disruption, but the workmen have been great and have got the work done really quickly. It’s great that it’s done before Christmas.”

The £1.5m work has been part funded by a £774,000 grant from the first wave of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, organised by the Government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

The initial works, which are being carried out by Sustainable Building Services, will take around six weeks to complete. The properties will also switch from gas central heating to renewable energy sources in the coming months to further reduce their carbon impact and help save on energy costs.

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It is all part of Together Housing’s plan to invest £120m in green energy projects in its communities and move fully away from fossil fuels by 2035. So far, it has completed more than 3,000 renewable energy projects as it looks to halve its operational carbon impact by 2030.

From left to right: Simon Birch (Sustainable Building Services), Steve McCumiskey (Sustainable Building Services), Jan Glover (Sustainable Building Services), Charlene Wade (Together Housing), George Paterson (Together Housing), Patrick Berry (Together Net Zero), Ann Harkness (Together Housing), Jon Schofield (Together Net Zero), Alice Hammond (Together Net Zero).From left to right: Simon Birch (Sustainable Building Services), Steve McCumiskey (Sustainable Building Services), Jan Glover (Sustainable Building Services), Charlene Wade (Together Housing), George Paterson (Together Housing), Patrick Berry (Together Net Zero), Ann Harkness (Together Housing), Jon Schofield (Together Net Zero), Alice Hammond (Together Net Zero).
From left to right: Simon Birch (Sustainable Building Services), Steve McCumiskey (Sustainable Building Services), Jan Glover (Sustainable Building Services), Charlene Wade (Together Housing), George Paterson (Together Housing), Patrick Berry (Together Net Zero), Ann Harkness (Together Housing), Jon Schofield (Together Net Zero), Alice Hammond (Together Net Zero).

Patrick Berry, Director of Together Net Zero, said: “We have quite a lot of homes which are non-traditional builds with little or no insulation. They can be quite expensive to heat and expensive to bring up to our standard.

“The way they’re built means we have to think differently about the way we insulate them and thanks to this funding from the Government we’ve been able to work with our partners to identify our homes most in need and provide low-carbon solutions to help them operate efficiently."

Related topics:ResidentsCalderdaleHalifaxGovernment