A WIRRAL housing association has secured £1.8 million of funding to make homes more energy efficient.

Last year, Magenta Living was successful in securing £1.6 million of a group funding bid of more than £11 million from the first wave of the government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Funding programme (SHDF). Now the housing provider has secured a further £1.8 million in the second wave.

Magenta is working in partnership with Sustainable Building Services UK (SBS) and is currently completing the retrofit of 99 homes in wave one, with plans to complete 161 homes in wave two across a selection of their neighbourhoods including Woodchurch, Central Birkenhead, Rock Ferry, Birkenhead North End and Noctorum.  

Magenta Living’s Executive Director of Assets and Development, Ian Thomson, said: “Securing a further funding bid is another huge success for us. This project will significantly improve the lives of our customers who need it the most, given the challenge many are facing due to rising energy costs.  

“This scheme is making and will continue to make our customers’ homes warmer and healthier as well as saving them money on their energy bills and supporting us on our journey to carbon neutral. 

“One customer has told me already that his monthly energy bill has gone from £80 to £20 which is exactly the kind of result we want for our customers.  

“Working with SBS, we are currently completing wave one of the scheme and look forward to working with them on wave two.” 

The homes have been identified as being in the highest areas of fuel poverty and lowest areas of income.  The new external wall insulation is creating an insulated building with a balanced ventilation system that retains more heat and reduces the amount of energy required to heat the home.  It also reduces carbon emissions. 

SBS Regional Director, Ian Jones, said: “We are pleased to be working in partnership with Magenta Living to deliver their large-scale retrofit decarbonisation housing programme.

“It’s great to hear about the positive impacts customers are already experiencing, helping those in fuel poverty and most in need to reduce their energy bills, whilst also improving their comfort levels and wellbeing.

“With the current cost-of-living and energy crisis, these works are more important than ever, and we look forward to helping improve the lives of hundreds more Magenta Living customers under the next phase.”

The Government has pledged £179 million to help over 20,000 social housing customers and they plan to extend the scheme over the next few years to around £800 million.