© Centre for Sustainable Energy
It may be mild and wet now but – with colder months to come – it seems over 6 out of every ten homes in Bath are not trapping heat efficiently – adding an extra £41 million pounds a year on heating bills.
That’s according to Liberal Democrat research which highlights how 43,000 homes in Bath have a poor efficiency rating (EPC Bands D-G). It leaves some families paying nearly £1,350 a year more than needed on their heating bills thanks to their poorly insulated homes.
Over 6 in 10 homes in Bath are not trapping heat efficiently and Wera Hobhouse, MP for Bath, has called on the Prime Minister to invest in fixing Bath’s leaky homes.
The Government has been criticised for a failure to insulate Bath’s leaky homes which is leading to families paying an extra £41 million on their energy bills, research by the Liberal Democrats has revealed. 43,000 homes in Bath have received a poor efficiency rating (EPC Bands D-G). Those households pay an average of £931 more a year than those with Band C rating. Meanwhile, those on the lowest energy efficiency ratings pay nearly £1,350 more a year.
It means that in total, households in poorly insulated homes are set to pay an estimated £41 million more in energy bills a year because the Government has failed to bring them up to at least a Band C rating. The Government’s target is for all homes to be Band C rated or better by 2035.
Liberal Democrat Climate and Energy Spokesperson, Wera Hobhouse MP commented:
“This Conservative Government’s failure to tackle our cold and leaky homes has piled misery on top of the cost of living crisis. It has left families around the country in the desperate position of choosing between heating and eating.
“Now is the time for this new Conservative Prime Minister to make our homes warmer. If they don’t we are facing another energy crisis in the future.
“With COP27 currently trying to drive through an accelerated green agenda, now would be the perfect time for the Government to announce an emergency package of support to fix Britain’s leaky homes, cut energy bills in the long term and prove Britain is a global leader in the fight against climate change.”
Councillor Sarah Warren, B&NES Cabinet member for Climate and Sustainable Travel commented:
“Our area is a particularly challenging place for energy retrofitting due to the high concentration of heritage and listed property and the wide disparity between wages and house prices. The Lib Dem administration on B&NES Council has been working hard to improve the rules governing how properties can be adapted and to make all new homes as sustainable as possible. We are proud to have adopted new planning policy including the Local Planning Policy Update and a Sustainable Construction and Retrofitting Supplementary Planning Document. Residents can find out about the latest grants and other schemes to help them improve the energy efficiency of their homes through the Energy At Home website (www.energyathome.org.uk).”
