‘Worst-hit Birmingham faces catastrophic winter’ as energy prices soar

A “CATASTROPHIC” winter lies ahead as researchers name Birmingham the place worst affected by spiralling energy prices, writes Kate Knowles.

The city topped a list of 9,000 energy crisis hotspots across England and Wales, where communities are at the greatest risk of serious financial hardship due to unaffordable energy costs.

Environmental campaign group Friends of the Earth divided England and Wales according to local authorities and identified 415 energy crisis hotspots in Birmingham. That is nearly two and a half times more than the number two spot: Bradford. Sandwell came in at number four with 116 hotspots, which means over a third of hotspots in the five worst locations are in the West Midlands.

Energy crisis hotspots are areas where energy use is high and typical household income is below the national average.

In many cases, energy use is high because homes are poorly insulated and require more energy to keep warm.

Further analysis shows these areas have a higher proportion of children than other areas, and people of colour are twice as likely to live there.

Last Friday (26) it was announced that the energy price cap will rise by 80 per cent to £3,549 a year, on October 1.

The findings are compounded by recent news Birmingham City Council is mapping areas such as libraries, art galleries, and community centres to be used as ‘warm banks’ in winter. These spaces will be accessible to people in need of warm shelter to help reduce excess winter deaths linked to freezing conditions.

Councillor John Cotton, cabinet member for social justice, community safety and equalities at Birmingham city council, said: “It should not be the case that people cannot afford to keep their homes warm, but that is the reality that we are facing here in Birmingham. By mapping out the places where people can go to keep warm, we can help some of the most vulnerable people in our city.”

Chris Crean, from West Midlands Friends of the Earth, said: “There’s no downplaying how catastrophic this and following winters will be for millions of people if energy bills rise as high as they’re predicted to, unless the government meaningfully intervenes.