Posted 1st Aug 2005

New Progress Housing Association's commitment to energy efficiency and improving the environment has been boosted by a major grant and has been awarded more than £170,000 to make its houses more energy efficient. New Progress has invested this money in its cavity wall and loft insulation programme.

Over the last year more than 1,000 properties have benefited from the installation of cavity wall insulation, and a further 1,280 properties have received loft insulation.

New Progress is leading the way with its pledge to introduce energy saving measures across its housing portfolio to improve the environment. New Progress has invested over £200,000 in this improvement programme, costing a total of £381,000.

The grant towards the cost of the development forms part of the Government's Energy Efficiency Commitment (EEC). The EEC has been established to contribute to the UK's Climate Change Programme by cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

It is estimated that this project will save 8.7 million tonnes of carbon from being emitted into the atmosphere, based on the lifetime of the insulation materials used.

"This project highlights our commitment to the environment by maximising the energy efficiency of our properties," said Adrian Smith, New Progress Head of Property Maintenance. "The extra insulation will help our tenants keep warm in winter, and will help them make significant savings on their heating costs too."

New Progress has made a number of environmentally friendly improvements to its housing stock over the last few years. Photovoltaic tiles were installed in the roofs of 22 houses in Spring Gardens, Leyland. And properties in Burneside, Cumbria, benefited from sheep wool insulation, using locally sourced materials.

These energy saving projects were part of bigger, improvement packages carried out to the houses to make better homes and reduce costs for tenants.