Call to make Derbyshire homes more energy efficient gets all party backing

Labour’s Councillor Mick Yates put forward a motion to Derbyshire County Council on November 30 to push for Government support towards the Great Homes Upgrade, a campaign to retrofit 19million homes with energy efficient features by 2023 to aid the environment and combat fuel poverty.

He explained that three quarters of UK homes are expected to be in ‘fuel poverty’ by the New Year, meaning they will spend more than 10 per cent of their incomes on fuel.

Coun Yates said: “Here in Derbyshire in 2023 there will be 250,000 families living in fuel poverty.

“Across the UK there will be more than 24million homes leaking heat.

“There is no route to decarbonising the economy without retrofitting more than 24 million homes across the UK.”

The Bolsover councillor said retrofitting homes with things such as insulation and alternatives to gas boilers would help the authority achieve its goal to be ‘net zero’, or carbon neutral, by 2050.

He continued: “It would also improve housing, lead to cheaper energy bills, and create hundreds of thousands of good quality jobs.”

Members passed the motion, which included a call for the Chancellor to commit £11.7billion over the next three years to the Great Homes Upgrade.