Warm welcome for energy efficiency improvements to back-to-back homes

The improvements will be made to as many as 100 back-to-backs in the Cedars area of Armley during a £4.4m scheme that is due to get under way in January.

Planned measures include new insulation for external walls and attic rooms as well as the installation of replacement doors and windows where required.

The work is designed to make the homes easier and more affordable to heat, which should in turn lead to a reduction in fuel poverty and cold-related illness. A detailed technical study will also be carried out to assess the suitability of the area for the possible future use of carbon-cutting ground source heat pumps.

The scheme is being part-funded by the council, with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, central government and energy suppliers among those providing additional support. Energy and regeneration specialist Equans will act as delivery partner.

The Cedars was chosen as the location for the work due to its comparatively high levels of deprivation, with an above-average proportion of residents living in fuel poverty. Many of the back-to-back houses in the area are more than 100 years old.

Under current plans, just over half of the homes to be improved will be from the council’s housing stock. The remainder will be privately owned, with up to 25 per cent of the cost of changes to these properties being met by landlords or owner-occupiers.

The inclusion of a range of tenures will, it is hoped, allow the scheme to have a positive visual impact on whole streets and ‘clusters’ of housing rather than dispersed individual homes.

Scheduled for completion by the end of 2025, the programme follows similar improvements to around 300 properties in Holbeck.

Hundreds of flats in tower blocks in Little London and Seacroft have also recently benefited from energy efficiency upgrades.

These projects, and others like them, underline the council’s commitment to addressing social and health inequalities and the part they play in causing illness and lower life expectancy.

They also show how the council is working with partners to tackle climate change as it seeks to make Leeds the first net zero city in the UK.

Councillor Jess Lennox, Leeds City Council’s executive member for housing, said:

“As a council, we are determined to ensure that everyone in Leeds has a home that gives them the right foundation for leading a happy and healthy life.

“Schemes like the one which will soon be starting in the Cedars can move us another step towards achieving that hugely important goal.

“The work will make homes easier and cheaper to heat, a vital consideration at a time when many households are experiencing fuel poverty.

“There will also be environmental benefits, with improved energy efficiency for properties meaning a reduction in carbon emissions.

“We’re grateful to our partners for supporting a scheme that will have a really positive impact on this community.”

Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said:

“Our region is home to some of the oldest houses in the country, including our famous back-to-back terraces in Leeds.

“In this cost of living crisis, it’s vital that we invest now to upgrade these homes for the long term, saving some households hundreds of pounds a year off their energy bills.

“By working with Leeds City Council and providing free support through our Home Energy West Yorkshire initiative, we’ll build a greener, more secure region with warmer homes and brighter communities for all.”

The provision of good quality housing is a key objective of Leeds’s ongoing Marmot programme, which aims to reduce health inequalities using an approach developed by leading epidemiologist Professor Sir Michael Marmot.

Launched in June last year, the programme is being spearheaded by the council alongside University College London’s Institute of Health Equity.

ENDS