LOWER-income residents in York have until March 31 to apply for grants to improve the energy efficiency of colder homes.

City of York Council has £2.3m to give away after receiving the money from central government.

The grants are for loft and cavity wall insulation, PV solar panels and air source heat pumps, and can be claimed by homeowners, private tenants and landowners to lower fuel bills, improve the standard of housing and to increase residents’ comfort.

To be eligible, applicants’ annual household income must be £30,000 or less, and their homes must have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) of D, E, F or G.

Eligible households can have loft and cavity wall insulation fitted. They can apply too for PV solar panels installed to generate free electricity for their home and they can sell any surplus to the national grid.

In addition, homes in in the City of York, Selby District Council, Harrogate Borough Council and Craven District Council which are not connected to gas or which don’t have central heating, can apply for air source heat pumps to be fitted, along with loft and cavity wall insulation.

Cllr Denise Craghill, Executive Member for Housing and Safer Neighbourhoods, said: “This funding will help lower income households who may be struggling to meet energy bills and keep their homes comfortably warm. Free energy efficiency measures will mean less energy use and therefore lower bills, whilst also helping to reduce carbon emissions.

“The funding allows us to help people invest in their homes and improve the condition of houses for present and future generations of York residents. “To continue this work, we are carrying on lobbying the Government for more consistent and longer-term funding while working to upskill contractors to do the work needed to deliver these improvements.

“I want to thank officers for the extra funding that they have secured for the city so far, and for our leading role in the region tackling both fuel poverty and climate change.”

For more information, please go to www.york.gov.uk/HUG or contact the council's delivery partner Better Homes Yorkshire on telephone: 0800 597 1500, or email: betterhomes@york.gov.uk.