Hundreds of Gentoo homes set to benefit energy efficiency improvements to reduce carbon emissions cut heating bills

More than 600 properties owned by Sunderland-based housing association Gentoo will see their energy performance enhanced with new double glazed windows and external wall insulation and other measures being put in place.

It is hoped the £2.66 million project will help shield tenants from growing fuel bills, ensuring homes are thermally efficient and cheaper to keep warm.

Nigel Wilson, chief executive officer at Gentoo, said: “Gentoo is fully committed to supporting the carbon reduction targets set out by the government and partners across Sunderland and I’m delighted we’ve secured important grant funding that will enable us to help our tenants reduce their own carbon footprint and protect them from the rising cost of energy.

“The project, which we are pleased to have worked with the council on, will allow us to improve existing homes to ensure they are fit for the future but more importantly, allow us to ensure homes are more comfortable and warmer to live in for our tenants.”

The programme fits with Sunderland’s Low Carbon Framework – backed by the council, Gentoo and a range of organisations and businesses – which provides a high-level strategic framework for how Sunderland will play its part in lowering emissions to become a carbon neutral city by 2040.

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Cllr Graeme Miller, leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “We’re delighted to be working shoulder to shoulder with Gentoo to take this important step to improve existing housing stock and make properties in the city greener.

“It is through programmes and partnership-working like this that we can decarbonise the city and help enable residents to live more sustainably, to ensure we all play our part in a greener future.

“We’re working to deliver more sustainable new communities across Sunderland, but the energy used in existing homes are a significant contributing factor to the city’s carbon footprint and projects like this – that improve the energy credentials of older homes in Sunderland - will be critical to driving down emissions and ensuring the built environment supports our low carbon goals.”

Funding for the project was in part due to a successful bid to the Government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.

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