Herefordshire is having to hand back nearly £0.5 million of a Government grant to make homes more energy-efficient – despite the pressing need for such work in the county.

There were “major challenges” in spending the initial tranche of the Green Homes Grant (GHG), due to the supply of materials and of fitters capable of delivering the retrofit schemes, a report for councillors said.

Cabinet member for environment and economy Ellie Chowns said: “It’s extremely disappointing that we had to return part of the GHG back to the Government. We weren’t by any means the only authority that had to do that.”

She said there were also problems identifying homes that met the scheme’s quite stringent requirements, coupled with its tough spending deadlines.

“But we have got some money back in the third ‘tranche’ of the scheme, for which we have secured a different contractor to do the work,” Coun Chowns said.

“The bigger picture is that this sector requires further investment to develop those skills. Sixty per cent of the 85,000 homes in Herefordshire require substantial work to bring up to even a basic EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) ‘C’ standard.”

Council figures also show that nearly 14,000 of those households, or one in six, are in fuel poverty – higher than the national average.

“This is an opportunity for our local economy, which is why we have commissioned a retrofit strategy for Herefordshire to identify what the council can do to support that sector’s development,” Coun Chowns said.

But she added: “What we need is a serious, 10 to 20-year plan to fund the major works needed to bring everyone’s home up to a decent standard, without all the hoop-jumping and 12-month spending deadlines.

“Plus we urgently need government to set much higher standards for building new homes, otherwise we’re just storing up new problems for the future.”

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A Herefordshire Council spokesperson said that “understandable concerns from residents who were hesitant to have energy assessors and contractors into the home to during Covid 19” had also hampered delivery of the scheme, leading to a £495,655 underspend.

However, “no eligible Herefordshire resident was unable to secure support”, he added.

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A dedicated Keep Herefordshire Warm website, run by the council and sustainability charity Severn Wye, shows efficiency measures that households can get support for, including the GHG.

Meanwhile the council is seeking views on a proposed set of environmental building standards, which new properties in the county would have to meet. The consultation ends on April 13.