Somerset West and Taunton (SWT) Council has been awarded over £2.5 million of grant funding to deliver over £5m worth of energy efficiency measures to council homes.

Following a successful funding bid by the South West Net Zero Hub, people living in over 3,000 social homes in the south west of England will benefit from improvements to boost energy efficiency. The Hub has received circa £30m to support the delivery of over £82m worth of home upgrades for low-income households across an area from Cornwall to the Solent, with support from a consortium of partners including local authorities and social landlords, of which SWT was a member.

The money has been provided through a second round of the Government's Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) to subsidise new 'fabric first' measures, such as roof and external wall insulation to lower energy bills and to keep homes in the region warmer in winter and cooler in summer. Measures such as heat pumps and other energy upgrades could also be an option for homes that are already well insulated.


Jon Rattenbury, Programme Manager for the South West Net Zero Hub, said: "This is fantastic news for households in the south west and it takes us a step closer to achieving the region’s net zero targets. We look forward to working with our partners to deliver sustainable home upgrades that will make homes warmer and address fuel poverty."

In December 2022, SWT agreed on a low carbon retrofit strategy developed with tenants. The SHDF award increases the funding available to commence the delivery of the strategy to £35m.

Additionally, SWT's Neighbourhood Energy Efficiency Scheme will benefit council homes and many qualifying private homes over the next four years. The scheme, which commenced in the Holway area of Taunton, is being delivered in partnership with E.ON and JJ Crump, and 16 additional neighbourhood projects have been identified so far.

Although the scheme will focus primarily on Council housing, a countywide scheme administered by the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) is available for private homes that meet the qualifying criteria for homeowners to self-refer.