Coldest homes are in the most deprived areas

RESEARCH by Derbyshire councils has found that the least energy-efficient homes are also in the most deprived areas, presenting a crippling doubleblow.

These homes are now the targets for Government grants aimed at improving insulation for both health and energy-saving benefits.

Research carried out by the councils to find where to target these grants has now repeatedly shown that the homes which are the least energy-efficient – costing the most to heat – are also owned or rented by residents who can least afford to pay their bills.

This presents a stark dilemma for those residents and places a much higher risk of physical and mental health impacts – including from damp and mould.

Earlier this year, South Derbyshire District Council found that six streets across Newhall, Woodville, Church Gresley and Linton were both the most deprived and had the most energydeficient homes.

Now Erewash Borough Council has found the same issue.

It says homes built before 1945 do not have the same level of thermal efficiency and that the borough has more than 17,000 homes which were built before the Second World War – out of a total of 51,777.

It says the wards with the highest number of properties with the lowest three energy ratings, built before the Second World War (up to 1944) are Larklands in Ilkeston; Derby Road East in Long Eaton; Little Hallam and Long Eaton Central.

The authority confirms “these wards also have high levels of deprivation”.

It aims to use £757,550 to target 90 homes, through work with E.ON and East Midlands Homes, and provide houses in the highlighted areas with greater insulation, including through exterior cladding, along with sustainable energy such as solar panels and ground source heat pumps.

Meanwhile, in Amber Valley, £1.2 million in funding will be directed at households earning less than £30,000 a year and who live in or own homes which fall into the lowest energy efficiency ratings.

It has filed a planning application for more than 100 homes in Fletcher Street, Walker Avenue, Redfern Avenue and Stanley Avenue in Ripley. In total it aims to target 180 homes in the borough.

This would see those homes given energy efficient wall insulation, loft cavity insulation, replacement windows and replacement doors.

The works appear to include a wide amount of external cladding.

Previous work in Amber Valley to tackle house warmth through minimum acceptable energy efficiency levels for rented homes has seen 88 properties pushed into acceptable levels, officers say.

The council says: “The council will continue to work with partners to make sure those struggling to stay warm are offered advice, support and, where appropriate, specific measures to improve the energy efficiency of the home.

“The pandemic has inevitably placed considerable focus on the home environment and its importance to both physical health but also mental health.”

In early June, the district council in South Derbyshire had said there was a probable high level of fuel poverty in the areas highlighted for improvements, alongside likely and extremely likely “excess” cold hazards. These hazards pose a “serious and immediate risk to a person’s health and safety”.

More than 120 homes in South Derbyshire’s most deprived areas have levels of excess cold which are harmful for the health of those living in them.

The district council has offered an array of insulation improvements, including in the loft space and walls, to all of the identified homes in these specific areas.

The pandemic has placed considerable focus on physical and mental health. Council spokesperson