Streets Ahead grant works wonders for Woking and Elmbridge residents
Thameswey Sustainable Communities directors and staff, along with councillors from Woking Borough Council and Elmbridge Borough Council, welcomed representatives from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) on Thursday 25 February.
They visited residents in Pyrford and West Molesey.
Peter and Jennifer Froude, who live in a park home in Pyrford recently had their home insulated through Surrey's Green Deal Communities project 'Streets Ahead' and are expended to save over £160 a year on their energy bill.
L-R , Peter Antoniades (DECC), Jennifer Froude (resident) , Zillah Boraston (DECC), James McEwen (DECC) , Sherif Kahky (DECC)
Sidebar picture - Jennifer Froude (resident); Cllr Graham Cundy
Jennifer Froude said: “ Although we only had the insulation fitted in January we can feel the benefits already.”
Cllr Graham Cundy, portfolio holder for planning said ““I’m delighted that so many Woking residents have benefited from the grants for solid wall insulation, helping them to keep warm and reduce their fuel bills. I hope that Peter and Jennifer Froude continue to enjoy the benefits of their warmer home.”
Mr & Mrs Matthew & Jemma Smith, and their two year old son Theo, who live in a two-bed mid-terraced house in West Molesey, have also recently had their home insulated through the Streets Ahead scheme and are expected to save over £240 over three years on their energy bills.
Mr Smith said “Since having the insulation installed we have definitely felt the benefits in the winter months,it also makes the house look more attractive. We really appreciate the fact that we were able to get the £5000 grant if we didn’t we wouldn’t have been able to have these improvements done.”
Cllr Mary Marshall representing Elmbridge Borough Council said: “I’m delighted that so many Elmbridge residents have benefitted from the grants for solid wall insulation, helping them to keep warm and reduce their fuel bills. I hope that Mr & Mrs Smith continue to enjoy the benefits of their warmer home.”
More than 50 Woking and 55 Elmbridge households residents have benefited from the grants to make their homes more comfortable to live in. Solid walled homes typically lose more heat than standard built homes and park homes (or static mobile homes) particularly have little or no insulation and are expensive to heat.
The grants were not means tested, but were instead based on the construction of a resident’s home.
Action Surrey, on behalf of all Surrey councils, was awarded more than £2.5 million from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) as part of its Green Deal Communities programme that provides grant funding to local authorities to develop energy efficiency schemes targeting local households.
A spokesman from DECC said: "Improving energy efficiency at home is one of the ways we can keep bills down for hardworking families which is why the Government has supported industry in delivering more than 1.6 million efficiency measures in over 1.3 million households."
All 453 grants across Surrey have now been allocated so there isn’t currently any funding available.
L-R Matthew Thompson (Streets Ahead); Cllr Mary Marshall; Jemma Smith (resident); Theo Smith (son); Matthew Smith (resident)
