Mitie, the FTSE 250 strategic outsourcing company, has been awarded an initial £30 million contract to make energy efficiency improvements to over 2,000 council properties in Southampton over the next 18 months.
The partnership is part of the Government’s Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation (ECO) and is one of the largest ever awarded in the UK.
The Green Deal helps make energy-saving improvements to homes or businesses while the Energy Company Obligation helps reduce the UK’s energy consumption and supports people living in fuel poverty.
The scheme will involve installing insulation, improved heating systems, new windows and other related home improvements for Southampton City Council’s tenants and private households.
The scheme will help reduce carbon emissions across the Council’s housing stock and reduce fuel bills in some of the least energy efficient properties by hundreds of pounds a year, providing vital savings for low-income families.
The scheme has the potential to run for a further five years, subject to ECO funding and legislation.
Mitie will be responsible for the delivery of a district heating scheme for the Thornhill Estate involving over 1,100 properties.
The partnership will form the basis of a unique delivery model to be rolled out to other Housing Authorities across the South of England.
Ruby McGregor-Smith CBE, chief executive of Mitie, said:
“This new partnership with Southampton City Council will help reduce fuel bills and carbon emissions across their entire housing estate.
“We are really excited to be building on our existing relationship with the Council and look forward to providing residents with warmer and more energy efficient homes.”
Cllr Warwick Payne, Southampton City Council Cabinet Member for Housing and Sustainability, said:
“Mitie has been chosen as our ECO partner after an exhaustive process to make sure we’re getting the right firm and the right deal. We hope to attract more than £30m of investment to Southampton with the potential for more to follow if Westminster extends the Energy Companies Obligation scheme.
“Using this investment we can shield low-income families from soaring fuel prices, improve the look of our council estates, create hundreds of local jobs and reduce Southampton’s carbon footprint. We can’t wait to get started.”
Nick Cross, Head of Housing Services at Southampton City Council, said:
“We’re delighted to confirm that Mitie will be our official ECO partner. ECO funding will significantly improve the standard of the Council’s poorest performing housing stock as well as reducing fuel poverty and improving the health and well-being of tenants in some of the most deprived areas in the South.
“The ECO partnership will have a sufficient scale to contribute to business growth, job and apprenticeship creation, safeguarding existing jobs, and developing a strong local skills base for local people in the City’s communities. By improving their homes, reducing their heating bills and offering opportunities for local employment our ECO partnership will literally transform the lives of thousands of our residents.”
-ENDS-
For more information, please contact:
Natasha Kyriakou, Marketing and Business Development Manager, Property Management
E: Natasha.Kyriakou@mitie.com
T: 0207 022 8403
M: 07919560196
