Councils to Back Green Housing Measures

The central government has teamed up with nine local authorities around England to test out new measures that will help to improve energy efficiency in homes.

The councils taking part include Manchester, Bristol and Northumberland – who will offer insulation to local residents, and encourage them to install renewable energy in their homes as a way of saving money on energy bills and reducing carbon emissions.

For example, double glazing will be recommended as a way of reducing the amount of heat lost through the windows, helping to make homes warmer and reducing fuel bills by an average of over £100 a year. Coupled with insulation and renewable energy, homeowners could see far lower fuel bills in the future.

On top of these measures, councils will also be laying out a framework to help them cut down emissions over a period of years to help set out what has been called a ‘route for progress’.

The housing minister, John Denham, said that the local authorities ‘are uniquely positioned to use their role and influence to drive and shape a low carbon economy’. This will come through the areas of planning, housing, waste and transport.

Denham added that this is the kind of change that is needed for the UK to meet its emission targets by the year 2020 – a planned 34 per cent reduction in emissions from 1990 levels.