Connection of new homes to the gas network should cease “imminently”, according to a new report that estimates decarbonising the north of England’s housing stock could create 77,000 new green jobs.
The key recommendation of the study, carried out by the IPPR North thinktank, is for all of the region’s social housing to be retro-fitted within a decade.
Upgrading the region’s 1.27 million council and housing association homes would require an investment of £2.36 billion a year over the coming decade, of which half must be grant funded by government, says the report, with landlords match-funding the balance.
This investment would pump prime supply chains, which would have spin-off benefits for private home-owners and landlords, the IPPR says.
However, the proposed retrofit programme would provide a post-pandemic economic stimulus for the north, creating 77,000 new jobs in the region and a further 111,000 in the supply chain across the UK by 2035.
Demand for low-carbon measures, including heat pumps and hydrogen boilers, could be further stimulated by banning the connection of new homes to the gas network “imminently”, which the report says should be considered as part of new planning reforms.
The government has proposed that new homes should no longer be connected to the gas grid from 2025 onwards.
The report, entitled “Northern Powerhouse Homes”, recommends that local and combined authorities develop planning strategies for new low-carbon homes.
Councils should be permitted to include heat zones in their local plans to enable infrastructure such as heat networks and work with electricity providers to ensure local grids are ready for neighbourhood-level changes.
The study says that the decarbonisation of housing will be “a particular challenge for the north” because much of the region’s housing stock is old and hence more expensive to retrofit.
Of the region’s 6.8 million homes, almost one in four were built before 1919, and 44 per cent before 1944.
Approximately 731,500 homes are fuel poor in the North, which – at over one in ten households – is higher than the average for England.
The report comes as No 10 Downing Street said Boris Johnson is soon due to unveil his plans for a green industrial revolution despite being forced to self-isolate after meeting a MP who subsequently tested positive for coronavirus.