The much anticipated Green Home Grants scheme has arrived, and it has not lived up to the promise that we previously reported about.
The biggest challenge has been that the new grants use an older scheme to determine which contractors are eligible to perform the work. That scheme, TrustMark, is not bad by any means, but it is aimed at large suppliers rather than individual specialists. Members have already reported difficulties in finding tradespeople who are both experts in listed buildings and also a part of the scheme, which makes it more difficult to obtain grants.
This has effectively locked out a large number of owners from applying for grants, meaning that there continues to be almost no public support for individual private owners. The Club will be taking the matter up with both the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy who created the scheme, and with Historic England who have been strong supporters of energy efficiency in listed properties.
To read the full story, see the latest issue of Listed Heritage, the Club’s 160 page bi-monthly magazine. Every issue includes a dedicated section on our lobbying efforts, as well as news, features and technical guidance from across the heritage sector.
To show your support for our campaign, you can join the club.
To send us your feedback, call us on 01795 8434939 or e-mail us at campaign@lpoc.co.uk.
