Over 2,000 Citizen homes in Coventry to benefit from energy efficiency improvement works thanks to the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund

We’re working with Coventry City Council to improve the energy efficiency of more than 2,000 homes in Coventry over the next two and half years, following a successful bid with the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.

We worked with Coventry City Council to submit the bid to the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (formally known as the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy – BEIS) .

The £ 23.8m grant will see energy efficient works carried out on our properties in the city to improve the Energy Performance to an EPC rating of a C.

Works on the homes will predominately improve the fabric and ventilation of a property including, cavity / external wall insulation, increased loft insulation and improving ventilation to reduce the potential for mould growth.

This funding is part of the second wave of Social Housing Decarbonisation Funding, which was submitted following joint success with Coventry City Council in the first wave of the bid where funding was secured to improve 95 homes across the city last year.

Our Chief Operating Officer at Citizen Mads Nelson said: “It’s fantastic news we’ve been successful with Coventry City Council on our bid to the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund. The funding will help us deliver more energy efficient homes, which will support our customers in keeping their homes warm, particularly in these times of high energy bills. By making our homes more energy efficient we’re also reducing the carbon dioxide emissions, lessening the impact on the environment.

“It is a Government requirement that all rented properties must achieve a minimum EPC band C by 2030 and this will help us achieve this. Including the grant from the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, we are investing nearly £74m to bring more than 4,000 homes up to EPC C ahead of the Government’s target of 2030.

“At Citizen we are committed to providing good quality homes, and this project and the funding from DESNZ will help with this by providing warmer more energy efficient homes. We have a great working partnership with Coventry City Council and are really pleased that our second bid together has been successful.”

Cllr David Welsh, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities at Coventry City Council, said: “Helping more people to access a good standard of affordable housing is absolutely vital.

“This funding will mean families should be able to see reductions in their energy bills.

“As a Council we are looking at ways to raise standards, from the private rented sector through to temporary accommodation, and we should be doing all we can to protect tenants – especially those on a low income.

“We work very closely with Citizen and I hope we can see the impact of this funding very soon. We’ll continue to push the government to act quickly. Finding solutions to the housing crisis is an absolute priority.”

Cllr Jim O’Boyle, Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration and Climate Change, said: “This is good news and will help improve the energy efficiency of a significant number of homes.

“We are consulting on the city’s climate change strategy and achieving more energy efficient homes which are retrofitted with better insulation and ventilation is a key part of this strategy.

“Families on the lowest income in the city must be supported as we strive to reduce our carbon dioxide emissions.

“This also highlights the importance of partnership work. Organisations across the city need to work together to address climate change and this is a really good example of this approach in action.”

Lord Callanan, Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance, said:   “This investment will help thousands of households to heat their homes for less, keep them warm for longer and could save hundreds on their annual energy bill.

“The green energy sector is growing, and this funding will support green jobs and provide the training needed to deliver these vital upgrades to homes.”

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