Keepmoat reacts to ‘disappointing’ Green Deal take-up

A YORKSHIRE-based housing and regeneration specialist has urged the country to become more passionate about creating energy efficient homes after the take-up figures of Green Deal loans was revealed.

Official results have shown that not a single household is currently benefiting from the Government’s flagship Green Deal loans scheme six months after it was launched.

The Government wants 10,000 homes to be transformed under the scheme this year but figures show that there was not a single live Green Deal plan up to June 16, with just four plans “pending.”

Nigel Banks, sustainability director at the Doncaster headquartered firm, said: “The take-up figures are very low, but this was to be anticipated as the legal contracts to offer Green Deal finance are not in place, meaning just a few of the 60 Green Deal providers are actually able to offer finance at present.

“It is frustrating that these legal contracts were not in place sooner but we expect this to be resolved in the next few weeks and then the take-up figures for the Green Deal will begin to build in July and August.

“We need to be more patient with the Green Deal scheme and as a nation we need to be more passionate about building and creating more energy-efficient homes.”

Banks also said that over the last nine years the average household energy bill for someone with Britain’s big six suppliers has almost trebled from £522 in 2004 to £1,352 in 2013 – a price rise of 159%.

He said: “With energy prices rising continually the country has to realise that it has never been so important to improve the insulation and energy efficiency of British homes. Not only do energy efficiency measures significantly increase the value of a home and slash the cost of energy bills – there is also a serious public health issue here.

“There were an estimated 25,400 excess winter deaths during the winter of 2009-10, mainly among the elderly, and a report by public health expert Sir Michael Marmot estimated that 5,500 (21.5%) of those died due to living in cold homes.

“It seems strange talking about this in the summer, but with the winters seemingly getting colder in Britain every year it is vital that we improve the energy-efficiency of British homes to cut heating bills, save lives, create jobs and boost the British economy.”

Banks said people need to remember the Green Deal is just one finance option available.

“There are other significant grant subsidies available such as the Energy Company Obligation which means people can get home insulation, sometimes covering the full cost of installation, and free replacement boilers for those on qualifying benefits,” he said.

“We believe more needs to be done to make British homes more eco-friendly and through schemes like the Green Deal and the Energy Company Obligation we plan to do more to create safer, more energy-efficient homes for Britain.”