Council’s green plan hailed by Keir Starmer at Labour conference costs £60,000 per home
The Opposition Leader praised a Labour council’s green energy housing scheme to cut fuel bills in his conference speech – but failed to mention the eye-watering cost.
He said the pilot project to retrofit eight council houses in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, with the latest energy-saving insulation and fittings had saved residents ‘over a grand’ on their winter fuel bill.
But retrofitting each house cost around £60,000. It means doing the same for the nation’s 1.6million council houses would cost £96billion.
John O’Connell of the TaxPayers’ Alliance said: ‘Taxpayers cannot be expected to pay for the retrofitting of every council house when they can barely afford to heat their own homes.’
The Opposition Leader praised a Labour council’s green energy housing scheme to cut fuel bills in his conference speech – but failed to mention the eye-watering cost
Starting in August last year the houses were thermally insulated with loft, cavity and external wall insulation. Heat pumps replaced gas boilers, new roofs were fitted along with triple glazed windows, chimneys removed and solar panels installed.
The council said the green technology had reduced carbon emissions by 50 to 75 per cent and last March estimated tenants saved ‘between £190 to £350 a year on their energy bills’.
Sir Keir told conference that insulating homes in this way would be part of a ‘Green Prosperity Plan’.
He recalled visiting the project ‘where the Labour council had the good Yorkshire foresight to do a real job on insulation’.
He said he visited in January in freezing weather and was invited into a warm house. Sir Keir said: ‘The energy bills were next to nothing, and the tenants were grinning from ear to ear. And why not: over a grand off your winter fuel bill – what’s not to like!’
Kirklees Council said it would be monitoring the performance of the properties to inform ‘future schemes we carry out’.
Councillor Will Simpson, Cabinet Member for Greener Kirklees, said: ‘Earlier this year we estimated the costs at £60,000 per property.’