Council tenants to benefit from latest warm homes scheme

Hundreds of council tenants across Darlington are set to benefit from the government's latest warm homes scheme.

Darlington Borough Council is part of a Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) consortium that successfully bid for funding from the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund (WH:SHF) Wave 3. The consortium was awarded £43.9m, with £3.55m allocated to Darlington.

The money will be used alongside funding from the council’s housing revenue budget, to fund a three-year programme of improvements worth over £15m. The work will include the installation of wall and loft insulation measures, double glazing and doors to help cut bills and tackle fuel poverty.

Councillor Matthew Roche, the council’s cabinet member for health and housing, said: “We’ve already significantly increased investment in our properties to provide tenants with warmer homes and cheaper fuel bills.

“And we’ve been working to attract external monies to boost this further. So, it’s great news that we have secured this extra government funding.

"Together with the council's own investment, it will see £15m being spent over the next three years to continue to help tenants with fuel bills and also reduce the borough's emissions which supports one of the council's key priorities to tackle climate change."

Up to £1.29 billion in government funding is available for the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund (WH:SHF) Wave 3 for local authorities and registered providers of social housing. It is set to upgrade thousands of social homes falling below the standard of EPC C - with measures including insulation, double glazing, and heat pumps - cutting bills and tackling fuel poverty.

In all 144 social housing landlords have been offered a funding allocation as part of the scheme, the details of which can be found at: Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund Wave 3 – successful Social Housing Landlords including local authorities and housing associations - GOV.UK