MAYOR WELCOMES ENERGY MINISTER TO ROTHERHAM TO SEE WARM HOMES INVESTMENT IN ACTION

Published 14 July 2025 at 2:00pm

South Yorkshire’s Mayor, Oliver Coppard, has welcomed Minister for Energy Consumers Miatta Fahnbulleh MP to Maltby, Rotherham, to see first-hand how investment in energy efficiency is transforming lives and homes across the borough.

Nearly one in five households in South Yorkshire are living in fuel poverty - often in homes that are cold, draughty, and expensive to heat. That’s not just a cost-of-living issue, it’s a health issue, a climate issue, and a fairness issue.

Domestic homes account for 39% of the region’s carbon emissions, and 60% of properties in South Yorkshire fall below an EPC Band C rating. That means the majority of homes are not energy efficient and local residents are paying the price.

The Minister and the Mayor visited Linden Drive, Redwood Drive and surrounding roads in Maltby, meeting with local residents, staff from Rotherham Council and sustainable regeneration specialist Equans, the contractor responsible for the work, to hear how government investment and local initiatives are tackling fuel poverty, cutting carbon emissions, and bringing down bills.

South Yorkshire’s Mayor, Oliver Coppard, said: “When we work together - government, councils, housing associations, landlords, and most importantly, our residents - we can make real, lasting change. We can build a South Yorkshire where no one has to choose between heating and eating. A region where everyone can live in a warm, safe, and affordable home.

“The government’s Warm Homes Plan is a step in the right direction, and I’m proud that here in South Yorkshire, we’re stepping up too. With new powers coming our way, we’ll be able to make more of the big decisions locally based on what our communities actually need.

“That’s why it was great to welcome the Energy Minister to Maltby today, to see what a real difference investing in warm homes can make. Warmer homes mean lower bills, better health, and a cleaner future.”

Minister for Energy Consumers, Miatta Fahnbulleh MP, said: “It was fantastic to visit Rotherham, seeing first-hand how transformative energy saving upgrades can be used to help ease the cost of living.

“Our Warm Homes Plan – backed by £13.2 billion, will help upgrade millions of homes, tackling fuel poverty and lowering energy bills for households across the country.”

130 homes in and around Maltby were part of a pilot project to install thermal improvement measures including external wall insulation, cavity wall insulation, loft insulation and high-performance windows and doors. Some properties also received new roofs. As a result, 125 of those homes have now reached EPC Band C, and families are saving in excess of £400 a year on their energy bills based upon modelled data, showing what a big impact warm homes investments can have.

Cllr Chris Read, Leader of Rotherham Council, said: “The scheme in Maltby has been a great success and is making a huge difference to the lives of residents. It was great for the Minister for Energy Consumers Miatta Fahnbulleh to be able to hear first-hand from residents the difference the changes have made.

“I’m delighted that more residents living in Council homes will soon start benefitting from similar improvements. The Council, along with a grant from the Government’s Warm Homes Social Housing Fund, is funding £18million of work to decarbonise 900 homes across the borough over the next five years.

“This work is just one of the ways the Council is improving the lives of our tenants by providing high quality homes that are more energy efficient and a lower cost to maintain.”

Steve Batty, Director of Sustainability at Equans, said: “Projects like this one in Maltby lead the way regionally and nationally when it comes to driving down fuel poverty and energy consumption in existing homes.

“Reducing carbon emissions from housing not only helps the environment, it improves lives by making homes more comfortable, more energy efficient and affordable to heat – which is vital at a time when people are worried about high costs of living. It is promising to hear more about how the Warm Homes Plan will come to fruition.”