Free loft and cavity wall insulation project to help cut heating bills of homes in Fishergate and Hull Road wards (From York Press)

Free loft and cavity wall insulation project to help cut heating bills of homes in Fishergate and Hull Road wards

7:44am Thursday 23rd July 2009

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RESIDENTS in some of York’s most needy neighbourhoods will have the chance to slash their heating bills by half thanks to a £120,000 pilot project.

Free loft and cavity wall insulation is to be offered to residents living in privately-owned properties in parts of the Fishergate and Hull Road wards.

The initiative has been spearheaded by York’s Green Party and aims to tackle fuel poverty in the neighbourhoods most at need.

It has been modelled on the success of a Green Party initiative in Kirklees, West Yorkshire, praised by the Local Government Association, which provides free insulation to every home that is suitable for these measures.

The leader of York’s Green Party, Coun Andy D’Agorne said: “We want residents and landlords to take advantage of this free offer and prove the success of it. “In future we’d like the council to extend the scheme to other parts of York, if not the whole of York.”

The pilot project is set to be launched after York’s Green party persuaded the leader of City of York Council, Coun Andrew Waller, to allocate £100,000 from this year’s budget to trial the free insulation scheme.

Council officers have supplemented this amount with at least £20,000 by applying for more resources from Government’s carbon emissions reduction target fund.

Green councillor Dave Taylor said: “Everyone’s a winner. It’s obviously good for the environment to stop wasting energy, the council will make progress on its climate change strategy and the residents in these areas will benefit from lower fuel bills as a result of better insulated homes.”

Households will receive a leaflet from the council in the near future if they live in the areas to be offered free insulation in the trial scheme. An area in Hull Road ward will be first to receive leaflets in early August, with two areas of Fishergate following in mid-August and early September.

Some properties will not be suitable for retro-fitting of insulation, including those with solid walls, as there is no cavity to fill. Likewise, if attics have been converted into loft rooms then no loft insulation can be fitted. However, householders may still benefit from other advice which the council or Energy Advice Centre can provide.

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