Progress in home energy upgrades “hopeless” – West Midlands Mayor
West Midlands Combined authority Mayor, Conservative Party member Andy Street ,was challenged by CovCAN member and Lower Stoke resident Ken Grainger about why he hadn’t put “place before party” to challenge the Government’s record on funding retrofitting insulation and green home energy generation measures – like solar panels and heat pumps – in the same way he had taken them to task on Levelling Up.
“Although you’ve got a wonderful plan on the Combined Authority, you’re going to fail miserably” Ken said, “You’ll have to retrofit 8,000 homes every day. Why aren’t you using your voice to say to Government, ‘Look, we need a regional priority on retrofit'”
Andy Street admitted that the West Midlands Combined authority is making “hopeless” progress on home energy efficiency upgrades and also criticised the Government’s funding processes as a “nonsense”, while defending his behind-the-scenes appeals to Whitehall to hand over cash and decision-making powers in this area.
He was speaking at an ‘Ask Andy’ Q&A event in Square One Bar, Cinema & Entertainment Venue Jordan Well Coventry on 21 February 2023.
Read more on the Birmingham Mail website.
See here for the West Midlands Combined Authority Retrofit Plan