The first six projects have been approved under the Green Deal Communities initiative, unlocking £19.5m of funding to deliver 5,500 Green Deal Plans to more than 7,000 households.
The projects in Cambridgeshire, Ashfield, Suffolk, Peterborough, a group of six north London boroughs and Bracknell Forest were selected by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) from a total 64 bids from local authorities hoping to take a slice of a total £80m funding pot. Other projects are being assessed with a second tranche of approvals due shortly.
The Green Deal Communities programme was set up to boost take up of the beleaguered retrofit scheme by asking local authorities to propose street or area-based proposals designed to deliver Green Deal plans to as many households as possible.
Councils were given until the end of December 2013 to submit applications for a minimum £1m of capital funding. Proposals are judged on criteria including: the number and total value of Green Deal plans that will be delivered; their credibility in terms of having secured matching Energy Companies Obligation (ECO) funding; and their creativity in offering local incentives to drive demand.
"We are stripping down the red tape required to get a Green Deal finance plan, knocking 10 days of the process, so people can now, as of last month, sign up to a plan on the same day they get a quote for the work."
Ed Davey, energy and climate change minister
The newly-funded projects were highlighted by secretary of state for energy and climate change Ed Davey during his speech at the Ecobuild conference this week, in which he admitted the “disappointing” take up of Green Deal loans so far. The latest government figures show 1,227 Green Deal plans had been signed to the end of January 2014, of which just 746 were completed.
Speaking on Wednesday afternoon, Davey said: “When it comes to converting Green Deal assessments into finance plans, the story so far has been, let’s face it, disappointing.” He also admitted the scheme started off “too clunky and too complex”, but said the government would be unveiling further incentives in the coming weeks.
Davey conceded that information, administration and finance were “too difficult, lengthy and complicated for people to access easily” and that “the assessment process needs to be improved”.
He pledged to create an “easy, simple, hassle free” single route for consumers “to get the energy efficiency advice and upgrades they want, whether it ends up being through ECO, Green Deal or self-financed”.
Davey drew attention to the recent launch of the online Home Energy Tool designed to help people check suitable home improvements and available support as well as the Energy Saving Advice Service designed to match consumers with local Green Deal providers.
“We are stripping down the red tape required to get a Green Deal finance plan, knocking 10 days of the process, so people can now, as of last month, sign up to a plan on the same day they get a quote for the work,” he said. “Amendments to the Consumer Credit Act have now come into effect which will allow the same Green Deal finance plan to be offered to all customers irrespective of what housing tenure they have.”
