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Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen has welcomed £3.6million in new government funding to upgrade homes across the region to be more energy efficient, transition to net zero and support local jobs.

The £3.6million allocation is some of the first funding from the £950million Home Upgrade Grant scheme to be awarded and will be used to upgrade low-income, privately owned off-gas grid homes to move to net zero and reduce fuel poverty.

The funding will pay for measures such as wall and roof insulation, new low carbon heating systems, thermostats and room controls for 314 homes across the region. Through the scheme more than 100 good-quality, well paid jobs will be created for local people.

Upgrades will take place before the end of March next year, with the move saving households around £200 per year on their energy bills.

The news comes just days after the Mayor and Combined Authority were successful in securing Government cash to help partners in the housing sector undertake a £4.9million project to upgrade social housing to make them more energy efficient.

Mayor Houchen said:

“Decarbonising industry across Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool is hugely important if we want to meet our net zero ambitions, but we also need to do the same with our homes – making homes warmer, cutting energy bills and creating local jobs for local workers.

“There have been lots of innovative schemes and pilots taking place right here to help us do that in the long-term, not least Northern Gas Networks’ recent trial in using hydrogen to replace gas in home cooking and heating supplies, but we have to act in the short-term too.

“This cash is a great boost for our low-carbon ambitions and, along with the recent announcement on funding to boost efficiency in social housing, will also give hundreds of families more money in their pockets by reducing their fuel bills.”