Harrogate home owners to get a free ‘whole house plan’ as part of £1.2 million energy efficiency scheme

The Local Energy Advice Demonstrators (LEAD) project, funded by the Government, will be piloted in seven neighbourhoods around the towns of Harrogate, Pickering, Skipton, Stokesley, and Selby.

Led by North Yorkshire Council, the scheme will focus on specific streets, villages and neighbourhoods where studies have highlighted priority areas and where interest in tackling climate change through retrofitted schemes has been shown.

Households in these pilot areas will be offered a free ‘whole house plan’ – a survey of their homes with advice on what would be needed to make them more energy-efficient, such as new windows and doors, or cavity wall and loft insulation.

About 325 plans will be facilitated through the national project, comprising in-house assessments, whole house plan development in collaboration with the householder, and elements of design work, leaving the resident with a clear plan of action and next steps to implement their retrofit project.

The scheme has received £900,000 from The Department for Energy Security and £300,000 from the Net Zero and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

North Yorkshire Council has led on retrofit programmes across the region for some time, co-ordinating activity in historic county, borough and district councils to deliver funded programmes, Warm and Well projects and advice, alongside capital measures for homes in fuel poverty across the entire county.

North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for housing, Coun Simon Myers, said: “Fuel poor households struggle to realise opportunities with retrofit but we hope our customer-centred one-stop-shop approach will help to overcome these issues.

"We have also taken on board hard to treat homes – terraced homes, solid-walled homes fronting on to footpaths and roads, listed and stone wall buildings, homes in conservation areas, off gas grid properties, and those in generally poor condition.

“Without first fixing the basic issues the retrofit energy efficiency measures such as insulation, draught proofing and ventilation, will not make any difference, especially in poor fuel areas.”

The efficiency programme will start later in 2023.