Wrexham Council highlights the work being undertaken to improve heating systems and reduce energy bills for tenants living in sheltered housing
Tenants at a council sheltered housing scheme have welcomed improvement work carried out to their heating systems.
Maes Y Capel, a Sheltered Housing scheme in the village of Coedpoeth, has received brand new heating systems as part of a major improvements project being carried out by Wrexham Council.
The scheme contains 22 individual flats and 8 bungalows, each with its own separate heating system.
As there is no gas supply to the scheme, tenants had previously used storage heaters on an economy 7 tariff which meant they were switched on overnight, when energy prices were cheapest, and slowly dispersed their heat throughout the day.
The storage heaters have now been replaced with modern electric heaters on an economy 10 tariff. Economy 10 offers 10 hours of discounted energy rates per day, typically broken down into four hours at night, three hours during the day and three hours in the evening.
More control over new heating systems
Maes Y Capel tenant, Tecwyn Jones, said, “We had very little control over the old heating systems. They were on at night and off during the day and it could sometimes be colder later in the day when the storage heaters had lost all their heat. With these news heaters we are able to switch them on during the day for an extra boost if we need to and we’ve had a lot of help to set them up for us and teach us how to use them. We should also be able to save some money on bills if we use them carefully.”
The new heating systems were provided by the Electric Heating Company and installed by Wrexham Council contractors, Mike Pryde Electrical Services Ltd.
Kevin Hilton, Customer and Technical Support Assistant for the Electric Heating Company, commented, “The collaborative approach taken between Electric Heating Company and Mike Pryde Electrical Services Ltd worked extremely well on this project and the other projects we have partnered on too. Wrexham Council put Tenants needs at the forefront of any project they undertake and we couldn’t agree more with this approach. The Tenant feedback to date has been extremely positive and the EHC Total Care Package we provide has been a vital part in ensuring the Tenants are engaged throughout the whole project and carefully educated in their new heating system. The Total Care Package also ensures they have a support mechanism for any future queries or concerns they might have.”
Local Member for Coedpoeth, Councillor Krista Childs, said: “This is excellent news for our tenants, particularly as the cold weather has started hitting us and we need affordable heating more than ever. The technology available now is much improved over what was previously available so I’m delighted that council tenants have been able to benefit from this thanks to the housing improvements project.”
The work carried out at Maes Y Capel is part of Wrexham Council’s extensive improvements project to ensure all its housing properties achieve the Welsh Housing Quality Standard by 2020. All council properties in the County Borough are being offered new kitchens and bathrooms by 2020 if required to achieve the Welsh Housing Quality Standard. Other external and internal improvements such as paths, fences, new central heating systems and roofing work will also be carried out, where required to meet the standard.
Wrexham Council is investing a record £54m on the improvement work in 2016/17. This includes a £7.5m Major Repairs Allowance grant which the Welsh Government awards to local authorities to support them achieving the Welsh Housing Quality Standard.
Lead Member for Housing, Councillor Ian Roberts, said, “This has been the busiest year of housing improvement work carried out in Wrexham for many decades and I’m delighted to see that tenants all over the County Borough are now starting to enjoy the benefits. We want to ensure all tenants have comfortable, modern homes which are efficient to heat and fit for the future and the successful completion of projects such as this mean that we are well on track to achieve this by 2020.”
More information on the housing improvement programme can be found on the council’s website – www.wrexham.gov.uk/whqs
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