RENOVATING council homes, and making Stroud district a centre of excellence for sustainable construction and retrofitting homes to make them more fuel efficient are part of key objectives for Stroud District Council.

So the news that we have again been successful in bidding for Government funds to help meet those objectives is very welcome news.

In our communities, the Government grant of £1.7million plus SDC investment will mean that more council homes will be retrofitted with energy-saving measures which will help keep fuel bills down and reduce carbon emissions at the same time.

External wall insulation, cavity wall insulation, loft insulation, ventilation upgrades and window replacements will be installed in 250 council-owned homes.

Improving the energy efficiency these council homes with The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Wave 2.1 will also boost the green economy and improve health and wellbeing for tenants.

This goes to the heart of what we prioritise as a council - environment and climate change, community resilience and wellbeing; and economy, recovery and regeneration.

SDC has already completed retrofit work at Hamfallow Court Independent Living Scheme with our investment allied with £1million from the SHDF Demonstrator fund, and 187 council homes are being retrofitted thanks to last year’s £1.8million SHDF grant and SDC investment.

SDC is the only Gloucestershire local authority which owns and manages its own council housing stock and I’m proud that SDC has led a consortium bid with Cheltenham Borough Homes, Two Rivers Housing and Gloucester City Homes for this vital work across Gloucestershire.

It’s work which has seen the council shortlisted at the annual Retrofit Academy annual awards as well and underlines our commitment to our tenants.