North Leeds housing estate to get £9m eco-makeover

Solar panels, mechanical ventilation systems and air source heat pumps are some of the environmentally-friendly improvements set to be made to a housing estate in North Leeds.
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Residents in the Holtdale estate in Holt Park are set to be the first beneficiaries of a new green refurbishment programme in the city, worth nearly £9m.

Part funded by Leeds City Council and the Government’s Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS); 190 flats in the area will be fitted with state-of-the art heating, lighting and ventilation systems, which the council says will help residents save on their energy bills.

Work is set to start in April and be completed by December.

Solar panels are among the improvements set to be made to the estate.Solar panels are among the improvements set to be made to the estate.
Solar panels are among the improvements set to be made to the estate.
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The work will include the installation of air source heat pumps and solar PV panels to reduce carbon emissions in each flat.

Extractor fans will be replaced with environmentally-friendly mechanical ventilation systems, while internal and external insulation will be fitted throughout each property. Each flat will also be upgraded to LED light fittings, which don’t use as much electricity as regular bulbs.

This council announced earlier this month plans to invest £100m on measures to improve energy efficiency over the next five years.

Coun Debra Coupar, Leeds City Council’s executive member for communities, said: “It is fantastic news that we have been successful in our bid to BEIS for over £4m of funding, which will support our ambition to deliver a range of significant environmental improvements for people living in 190 flats on the Holtdale estate.

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“This funding coupled with our own investment of over £4m will not only help us reduce carbon emissions and make the 190 homes on the Holtdale estate more energy efficient, it will also play a huge role in helping to cut energy costs for people in these homes by up to 70 per cent.

“We know that unfortunately too many people suffer from fuel poverty in Leeds and its work like this that will help cut those costs and make real positive impact to people’s lives.

“These type of steps must be done if as a city is to reach its aim of becoming carbon neutral by 2030, and as a housing team we are committed to exploring every option through our work to help make this happen.”