Retrofit work completed on more than 600 homes

More than 600 council homes in Wolverhampton have seen "major improvements", the city council has said, as a part of its retrofit programme.

The authority said the work had delivered "warmer, greener and more energy efficient homes" for council tenants living "in ageing non-traditionally built housing stock".

Measures have included installing external wall insulation, cavity wall insulation and double glazing, replacing external doors and re-roofing.

The council secured more than £5m, from a fund from the government's Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, towards delivering the scheme.

Homes in Bushbury, New Park Village, Heath Town, Merry Hill, Ettingshall, Wednesfield, Bilston, Bradley and Parkfields have benefited.

Mandy Pitt, from Bushbury, who had retrofit works carried out on her council home, said it was "definitely warmer in the winter".

"Our energy bills are a lot better - we're not putting as much on the gas to warm the house up.

"The heat remains in the property a lot better than it did beforehand, so we're really pleased with that."

The overall programme has been managed on behalf of the authority by Wolverhampton Homes, which is responsible for managing most of the council homes in the city.

Council deputy leader and cabinet member for city housing Steve Evans said with the current high cost of energy it was "especially important we improve the energy efficiency of any poorly performing council-owned housing".

"Our priority is to make the best use of our assets and ensure high standards across all areas of council housing, and this demonstrates the council's commitment to ensuring every resident has a safe and affordable home," he added.

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