WINCHESTER and Chandler’s Ford residents can now apply for up to £5,000 to make their home warmer and bills cheaper.

MP Steve Brine has long campaigned for the retrofitting of existing housing stock as key in order to tackle to ongoing Climate Emergency.

Now the Green Homes Grant has officially been launched.

Mr Brine said: “This really has been a long time coming and I am delighted this scheme has finally been launched.

"We can talk about ‘building back better’ for new housing stock but the vast majority of existing stock needs serious work to be efficient enough for the UK to reach Net Zero by 2050.

"This is an excellent initiative and I encourage homeowners, landlords and tradespeople across the area to get involved."

Residents can apply for a voucher to install measures including wall, floor or roof insulation, heat pumps and draught proofing.

Households on certain benefits can get up to £10,000 to cover 100 per cent of the cost.

With £1.5 billion available through vouchers, the scheme will see the Government fund up to two-thirds of the cost of home improvements up to £5,000.

The scheme will improve the energy efficiency of over 600,000 homes across England, cut people’s energy bills by up to £600 a year, and support tens of thousands of jobs in green construction.

Only TrustMark-registered tradespeople can carry out work.

More information can be found on the Government website.