Central Bedfordshire Council news and press releases

Housing Minister pays a visit to Central Bedfordshire park home residents

Thursday, 7 October 2021

Last week (Wednesday 29 September), we welcomed Housing Minister, Rt Hon Christopher Pincher MP to a local park home to see ‘green’ improvements made to residents’ homes.

Mary Coles's visit

The minister, who was touring the ‘Oxford-Cambridge Arc’ corridor to see how we're leading the way in innovation and sustainability, met with residents at Three Star Park, Lower Stondon, who had benefitted from a ‘Green Homes Grant’ of £1 million, to improve the thermal efficiency of 99 homes.

The grant, from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, has been used to improve the energy efficiency of older, poorly insulated park homes by installing external cladding and insulation in two of the largest park home sites, Three Star Park, Lower Stondon and Whipsnade Park, Whipsnade.

Our Executive Member for Housing and Assets, Councillor Eugene Ghent, said:

It was great to hear how delighted the residents are with the improvements, as well as how impressed they were by the quality and standard of work.

Park home residents Mr and Mrs Baverstock said:

The insulation has made a real difference. As well as the difference in temperature, you don’t hear the wind anymore…we love it, we can’t emphasise it enough! It was great that the minister came to see us to understand the difference the grant has made.

Mrs Coles added:

I’m thrilled to bits with the work, everything that has been done looks wonderful…the contractors who carried it out gave 100% and the customer service was fantastic and the team that installed it were very friendly. I love the work that has been done!

Councillor Ghent explained:

These improved homes are making a real difference to the health and wellbeing of our residents. The 99 households are also benefiting from lower fuel costs and are over the moon with the improvement in the quality of their homes.

By taking a ‘fabric first’ approach, the thermal efficiency, and the comfort of all the properties has been improved by at least one energy performance certificate band rating, by increasing the thermal efficiency of the homes and improving the structural integrity of the homes, which will reduce property maintenance requirements in the future. It is estimated that residents will save £105 annually in energy costs and reducing 60 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, that will contribute to our sustainability plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Housing Minister Rt Hon Christopher Pincher MP said:

We are levelling up the whole country and unlocking the huge potential of the entire Oxford-Cambridge Arc. Central Bedfordshire Council is leading the way building new high quality, energy efficient homes.

He went on to encourage everyone to have their say in the Arc consultation:

Improving the planning process across the region will support the housing sector, create thousands of jobs, drive investment and vital infrastructure, and protect the environment. I want residents and local communities to have their say on the future of the area and encourage everyone to fill out our online consultation.

The government is consulting on the Oxford-Cambridge Spatial Framework. This will help guide local planning and investment decisions in the region. This is open to all members of the public and residents have until 12 October to respond.

Find out more and have your say.