Leeds Invests £100M on Improving Housing

Leeds City Council has announced it is to invest £100m of measures to help tenants save money and cut carbon by improving energy efficiency over the next five years.

Thousands of council tenants will benefit from cheaper energy bills and warmer homes as a result of the transformative investment which will be funded primarily via housing revenues. New technologies will include ground and air source heat pumps, district heating networks, external wall insulation and solar panels.

By improving energy efficiency in the homes, the measures are expected to help residents facing fuel poverty and will aim to prevent the most vulnerable from suffering cold-related illnesses. This investment will support the council’s commitment to reduce the city’s direct emissions to net-zero by 2030 and will make Leeds a greener, fairer and healthier city. It will also help support ‘green’ jobs in industries carrying out the improvements.

Leeds City Council has been working in partnership with the University of Leeds to identify the best way to target these improvements to maximise the benefits for residents and the environment.

Councillor Debra Coupar, Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Communities, said: “Everyone deserves to live in a warm home that can be heated affordably, so I am delighted that we are ramping up efforts to help even more residents over the next five years.

“Living in a warm and energy-efficient home is better for our health, better for our finances, and better for the planet too.”

Councillor Helen Hayden, Executive Member for Climate Change, Transport and Sustainable Development, commented: “This is an ambitious investment that reaffirms this council’s commitment to tackling the climate emergency. We’re doing everything we can to make the properties we own fit for the future.

“However, we now need a long-term, national plan that enables private homeowners to invest in their properties and gives reassurance to local businesses to hire and train workers with the skills needed to meet the demand for sustainable housing.”

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