Council-owned bungalows to be fitted with solar panels

Council-owned bungalows across Oldham are to be fitted with solar panels

Council-owned bungalows in Oldham are to be fitted with solar panels as part of a drive to make homes more carbon-friendly across the region.

The cabinet has agreed to use grant money from the Green Homes Grant local authority delivery scheme to increase the energy efficiency of some of the properties still owned by the local authority. 

The town hall has already agreed to use the funding to retrofit wall insulation at a series of ‘damp’ homes on the Crossley Estate in Chadderton.

And now homes in Primrose Bank in Oldham will also benefit from works, as some of the social housing funding from the grant will be used to fund external wall insulation to Crosswell construction homes and cavity wall insulation to traditional construction council homes. 

Social housing funding is also to be paid to the Oldham Retirement Housing Partnership to part-fund the installation of solar PV systems to council bungalows. 

The shortfall in funding for these measures is to be met from the council’s housing revenue account capital programme.

According to officers, the work will improve energy efficiency and reduce fuel poverty which will help to ‘prevent illnesses linked to cold conditions’. 

It will also contribute to meeting the council’s target for the borough to be carbon neutral by 2030 to help tackle climate change, and also provide work for local contractors and training for new green jobs.

Cabinet member for housing, Councillor Hannah Roberts told the meeting it was ‘good news’ for Oldham and would help ‘improve people’s homes’.

Coun Abdul Jabbar, cabinet member for finance, added: “I think this report demonstrates that Oldham is leading the green agenda.

"As well as doing the retrofitting of the homes we’re actually installing solar panels that will produce much-needed clean electricity for residents so that’s to be welcomed as well.

“And my appeal would be that government to come forward, especially in the year where the United Kingdom is hosting the United Nations climate change conference in November, with some solid proposal to deal with de-carbonisation and if they did that then I’m absolutely convinced Oldham council will play its part in meeting those challenges. 

“We’re ready for anything that the government wants to invest in, either in local government or in private sector. 

“You’ve heard the prime minister talk about green jobs and so on, but if the government gave us the money we’d be ready to build a business park to invest in our community and create green jobs but we need that initial investment to be able to make those things happen.”

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