FUNDING of nearly £500,000 has been secured to connect 248 park homes in Lancashire to the gas grid and offer residents modern, efficient heating systems at no cost to the residents.
166 park homes at Burlingham Park, near Garstang, and 82 more at Carrwood Park at Walton-le-Dale are the latest to benefit from a national scheme to tackle fuel poverty.
Mostly occupied by retired or semi-retired owners, these homes are currently heated by LPG bottles or tanks, or electric heaters, which are inefficient and costly to operate.
Lancashire’s gas network Cadent has confirmed the funding to install, via its partner Affordable Warmth Solutions, a new underground gas main and connect each home to gas for the first time.
Jenny Moten, Director of Cadent’s North West Network, said: “Those of us connected to the gas grid generally take it for granted that we are, enjoying the benefits of reliable, affordable heating.
“Having a home that’s warm, and reliably so, and without it costing an absolute fortune, makes such a huge difference in financial terms, but also to your health and well-being.
“Since 2013, with AWS, we’ve helped support many thousands of fuel poor homes, in many cases having a life-changing impact on the people who live in them.
“Our investment here at Burlingham Park and Carrwood Park means that the residents will soon be able to enjoy modern, safe, reliable, efficient heating.”
A successful bid by Blackpool Council to the Warm Homes Fund (established by National Grid and administered by Affordable Homes Solutions) means residents will have the cost of installing new energy-efficient boilers, radiators and associated internal pipework all covered at no cost to them.
The work to install the new gas infrastructure at Carrwood Park began on 10 February and at Burlingham Park shortly after.
This is all part of a scheme delivered by Affordable Warmth Solutions for Cadent, as part of the gas network’s commitment to support the connection of thousands of homes under Ofgem’s Fuel Poor Network Extension Scheme.
Eighty-one similar projects helped support 4,608 homes in 2018/2019 alone, through a total of £5.1m invested by Cadent and a further £13m for new heating systems by partner organisations, such as local authorities, housing associations and the Warm Homes Fund.
Jeremy Nesbitt, Managing Director of Affordable Warmth Solutions, said: “We’re delighted to deliver these two exciting schemes on behalf of Cadent and Blackpool Council.
“Replacing old, outdated electric and LPG heating systems with efficient and economic gas heating will really make a positive difference to the lives of the residents.”
