Mark celebrates 8257 homes made warmer in Preston
04 Nov 2009
Mark is celebrating the work of the Warm Front Scheme in tackling fuel poverty in Preston and is urging more residents to come forward and get help with measures that could cut their energy bills by as much as £600 a year.
Mark said: “The Warm Front scheme helps people improve their homes’ energy efficiency and is vital in helping increasing numbers of people who are finding energy bills a burden.
Policies which tackle climate change are crucial, so seeing Warm Front doing that while addressing the growing social issue of fuel poverty is very important to our communities.”
Warm Front provides grants of up to £3,500 towards insulation and gas heating measures and £6,000 for oil heating to low income families, the elderly, or people with disabilities.
Green support services company Eaga, who manage Warm Front on behalf of the Government, reported that the past year has seen a record number of applications of 8257 households in Preston having benefited from the Scheme.
These households benefited from a range of energy efficiency measures including loft and cavity wall insulation, new heating systems and draught proofing.
Over £8,402,440.57 has been invested by Warm Front in Preston to date. Many who have benefited from the scheme report average savings on their fuel bills of anything between £300 and £600 a year. Rising fuel prices and need to protect the environment from dangerous CO² levels make the work of Warm Front Scheme increasingly important.
As well as benefiting from energy efficiency measures, households contacting Eaga can also receive a benefit entitlement check. To date, 999 homes in Preston have increased their average weekly income by £23.22.
To qualify for Warm Front residents must either own their own home or live in privately rented accommodation and should be in receipt of a qualifying benefit. To find out more about the Scheme and see if they qualify, Mark is urging households to contact Warm Front on 0800 316 6014.