Bransholme residents reap rewards of £10.8million home improvement scheme

Energy and regeneration specialist Equans held a workshop for residents at Bodmin Church Hall, where the organisation’s experts shared information about how household energy bills will be reduced by the project, as well as top tips to help them get the best from their newly-improved homes.

Equans is working to improve the energy efficiency of 180 council-owned properties, on behalf of Hull City Council. More than 90 homes have been completed so far, which have all now achieved Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) ratings of at least C.

Residents at the workshop were shown an example of a two-bedroom house on Kingscott Close, upgraded earlier this year, which has seen its energy bills reduced by almost £750 per year. The home’s EPC has improved from a D rating to a C.

The group also explored what they can do in their homes to reduce their carbon footprint, such as replacing halogen light bulbs with LED and turning off heating in rooms not in use.

Work in the Bransholme area has included installing external wall insulation, replacing windows, doors and roofs to make homes warmer and cheaper to heat, and updating ventilation systems to reduce the likelihood of damp and mould occurring.

Maureen Bristow, Chair of the citywide Hull Tenants’ Forum, said: “The workshop was very useful – it provided information on how to use a thermostat efficiently and explained how we are going to have reduced energy bills – it’s all so simple but so effective!”

Steve Batty, Director of Sustainability at Equans, commented: “Improvement projects like the work we’re doing in Hull are not only crucial to cutting the UK’s carbon emissions, but also reducing residents’ energy bills, whilst also creating warmer, more comfortable homes for them to live in.

“The key to any successful energy efficiency scheme is ensuring that residents have a good understanding of the changes to their home and helping them gain the most benefits from the works that have been carried out. This is why we were particularly pleased to be able to support the Bransholme community by giving them some hints and tips on how they can make the most of their energy use, and it’s great that we can help Hull City Council in its ambitions to reduce the carbon output from its housing stock.”

Cllr Paul Drake-Davis, Hull City Council Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Housing said: “We’ve been working with our partner Equans to make homes warmer and more energy efficient thereby helping residents to pay less for their fuel bills. The work undertaken makes the properties more sustainable too, which is helping the council to reduce its carbon footprint.

“Households are one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and there are ways that we can cut them in our homes. The recent seminar hosted by Equans was a great opportunity for people to learn about many, often small but important, steps they can take to improve their own homes’ output.”

Work is due to complete in October.