More homes in Exeter to be retro-fitted to combat climate change

Published: 24 February 2021

Another 100 homes in Exeter are set to be retro-fitted with measures to make them more energy efficient, the City Council has revealed.

The news follows the Council successfully securing a further £500,000 government funding for the project to tackle fuel poverty and address the climate emergency.

This is the second wave of funding the Council has secured to make its homes more energy efficient. In October the Council was awarded £600,000 from the government’s Green Homes initiative to carry out works on 120 of its homes across the city.

The initiative looks to address fuel poverty by making homes more energy efficient. The Council will add an additional £1.3m of its own money to make the initiative possible.

The Council has already retro-fitted a small number of properties in Wonford and is looking to retro-fit more of its housing stock going forward. All new council homes in the city are being built to high energy efficiency standards.

Retrofits see the whole house refurbished to deliver the very highest energy standards.

This includes a new heating system, wall and roof insulation, new windows and doors, and photovoltaic roof panels.

Cllr Laura Wright, Lead Councillor for Housing Development and Services, said the announcement was great news for Exeter.

“We are committed to tackling fuel poverty in the city and this extra funding will enable us to make another 100 homes - 220 in total with both grants – more energy efficient. Not only will the works help reduce fuel bills for tenants, it will also play a significant part in helping us make all homes in Exeter carbon neutral by 2030, supporting the city’s wider carbon neutral vision,” she added.