Green builders call for £10,000 home makeover loans
Local authorities should do more to encourage Britain’s homeowners to take out loans to give their properties a ‘green makeover’, it has been suggested.
Under the latest proposals put forward by the UK Green Building Council, households would be able to take out loans of up to £10,000 to allow them to make their homes more energy efficient.
This money would then be paid back gradually through their council tax bills rather than just through lower energy bills, as had previously been suggested by the government’s recently-unveiled ‘pay-as-you-save’ scheme.
Not only would such an initiative help improve the energy efficiency of around seven million UK homes by 2020, it could also create as many as 40,000 new jobs in the green sector, supporters argue.
Welcoming the suggestions, a spokeswoman for the Department of Energy and Climate Change said: “The government will soon be trialling pay-as-you-save schemes in several hundred homes across the country and we will also use what we learn from these pilots in our final decision on what form the scheme will take.”
Last month, Grand Designs host Kevin McCloud joined forces with the UK Green Building Council in arguing that, by investing in making homes more energy efficient, the government will help cut the utilities bills of millions.
Thanks to Emily Thomas