Sustainable warmth

Over the last five years, Cumberland Council and its former district councils have delivered many of the Local Authority Delivery schemes established by the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (formerly the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy). Typically, these have been delivered as a Cumbrian Consortium together with Westmorland & Furness Council and its former district councils.

Our aims for these schemes have been to increase Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) ratings and the thermal comfort of housing stock, tackle fuel poverty for low-income households and those in deprived areas, improve the sustainability of existing housing stock, and make progress towards the UK’s 2050 Net Zero targets by reducing carbon emissions and energy use.

The schemes have provided installation of energy efficiency measures and low-carbon heating systems. Common measures have included: cavity and solid wall insulation, loft insulation, solar photovoltaic panels, air source heat pumps and high retention storage heaters.

Beginning in January 2021 to September 2022, the consortium led by the former Eden District Council delivered the £5 million Local Authority Delivery 2 (LAD2), also known as the Green Homes Grant, which seen 402 measures installed in 273 private sector homes in Cumbria; of these there were 254 measures installed in 180 homes in the Cumberland area.

From April 2022 to November 2023, the consortium led by the former Carlisle City Council delivered the £7.6 million Sustainable Warmth Scheme (which combined Local Authority Delivery - LAD3 and Home Upgrade Grant - HUG1). The scheme seen installation of 801 measures in 475 private sector homes across Cumbria; of which there were 438 measures installed in 227 homes in the Cumberland area.

From April 2023, the consortium led by Westmorland & Furness Council delivered the £6 million Home Upgrade Grant 2 (HUG2) scheme, for which delivery ended in March 2025 after installing 240 measures in 131 off-gas grid private sector homes across Cumbria, of which there were 118 measures installed in 66 homes in Cumberland.

In addition to these consortia delivered schemes, from January 2022 to February 2024 the former Allerdale Borough Council delivered the £5.2 million Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Wave 1 scheme in partnership with housing association Home Group. The funding included £1.2 million awarded to Allerdale Borough Council and £4 million co-funding from Home Group, which delivered 628 measures in 90 socially rented homes.

Since August 2024, Cumberland Council has also been participating in the Ofgem Energy Company Obligation Flex (ECO4 Flex) scheme. During the first 8 months, as of March 2025, this has seen £2.5 million of funding spent on delivering measures to 113 private sector homes across Cumberland. The scheme running until March 2026.

From Q2 2025, a new consortium scheme led by Westmorland & Furness Council will be launched, the Warm Homes Local Grant. This is initially a 3-year scheme, with an allocation of £11.8 million for Cumbria. We aim to deliver measures in 820 private sector homes in Cumbria from 2025 to 2028, split equally between Cumberland and Westmorland & Furness. The Department of Energy Security and Net Zero expect to extend the scheme for a further 2 years until 2030.