Align & council helping to save residents money with energy-saving upgrades
Align Property Partners are helping to save residents money on their bills with a raft of energy-saving upgrades set to be installed in houses across North Yorkshire.
North Yorkshire Council are ready to roll out improvements at 150 socially-rented homes in the latest phase of a scheme to tackle properties which are worst affected by problems such as poor-quality insulation and ineffective heating systems.
Many of the properties identified for the upgrade are in rural areas where homes are often older and have poor insulation – including in villages around Harrogate, Selby and Richmond.
The decarbonisation drive reinforces the council’s ambition to be the UK’s first carbon negative region by 2040, and Align are playing a key role in the commitment to providing warm, energy-efficient homes.
The managing director at Align, Ron Walton, said: “We are passionate about sustainability, and through our work with North Yorkshire Council, we have provided hundreds of residents, businesses and other organisations with vital energy-saving solutions.
“We want to be the property consultant of choice, spearheading net zero transformation, and this national recognition for Align and our colleagues at the council highlight how we are making a real and tangible difference to our communities in North Yorkshire.”
The upgrades have been boosted in part by the latest wave of the Government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF), with the council receiving £1.7 million in funding in March.
To be selected for the funding, the council showcased retrofit projects where some of North Yorkshire’s worst-performing homes had been successfully upgraded to help tackle fuel poverty as well as providing residents with the opportunity to save money from their energy bills.
Tenant Barbara Rickards lives in a small village near Harrogate and recently saw her home fitted with a range of eco-friendly upgrades including an energy-efficient heating system.
She said: “Since the retrofit there has been a significant difference in my home. I have heating and hot water all the time, and I don’t have to struggle with coal or cleaning the fire out.
“The whole experience has made my life a lot easier with more space less cleaning and saving money – which makes me happy.”
In recognition of their ongoing eco-friendly commitment, the council and Align both swept to success at the recent 2024 national Energy Efficiency Awards, which was held in Birmingham.
The authority was crowned local authority of the year, while Align won social responsibility company of the year and finished second in the national energy consultancy of the year category.
More information about support or advice to keep homes warm and energy bills low is available on North Yorkshire’s website at https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/housing-and-homelessness/other-housing-information/energy-efficiency-advice
