Homes to get carbon makeover

Homes to be given 'green' makeover Photo: Darren Lehane

Homes to be given 'green' makeover Photo: Darren Lehane

Councils in Lewisham and Croydon have signed up to a new carbon-cutting scheme for households in their boroughs, it was announced on Tuesday.

The Mayor of London and London Development Agency have pledged £9.5 million to kick start the scheme, which plans to cut energy consumption in 200,000 homes across London by 2012.

Households involved in the project will switch to energy saving light bulbs, change to stand-by switches and have loft and cavity wall insulation installed for free or at a subsidised rate.

Residents in Lewisham have reacted enthusiastically to this announcement. Naim Choudhury, 23 said this: “I already use energy saving light bulbs in my flat but it [the scheme] is a good idea, why not?”

But Carolyn Roper, 27 was concerned about how the plan would be financed. She said: “It’s good in the long run, but everyone seems skint at the moment. Maybe there’s not that much money to go round”.

Households in the nine participating boroughs will get a ‘carbon makeover’ to reduce emissions by making them more efficient. In the announcement on Tuesday, Boris Johnson said: “With more than a third of London’s climate change emissions being generated from domestic properties, making our homes more energy efficient is a no brainer.”

A trial for the scheme took place over the summer in Thornton Heath. John Bownas of Croydon Council said: “This is a good scheme, which we are keen to promote.” He explained that there is a high density of Victorian houses in the area, all ideal candidates for the scheme.

By 2015, it is hoped that the scheme will have expanded and ‘made over’ 1.2 million homes in London. Annually, these measures are predicted to have cut 1,200,000 tonnes of carbon.

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