Up to 50,000 households in the North East will benefit from warmer homes and lower bills thanks to the UK's largest energy efficiency project.

The £200m scheme, launched today by British Gas and nine North East local authorities will create 75 direct job opportunities regionally, as well as creating up to 500 further jobs in the local supply chain.

Based in Newcastle, the 75 strong Warm Up North team will tackle fuel poverty, and will help to lower energy bills and make keeping warm more affordable for thousands of North East homes and businesses. Local small to medium-sized companies will be identified as contractors to complete the installation work.

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Eligible residents could benefit from free measures that could be installed in their homes making them more efficient and reducing their energy consumption. Measures could include hard to treat cavity wall, solid wall and loft insulation, new 'A-rated' boilers, and boiler repairs.

The North East is the first region in the country to benefit from a scheme of this scale, as Warm Up North is the largest and most advanced regional response to the Government’s Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation (ECO).

The ground-breaking initiative will cover private and rented homes, and social housing as well as extending to publicly owned buildings, including offices, health and educational properties.

The Warm Up North partnership comprises of nine local authorities: Darlington, Durham, Gateshead, Hartlepool, Newcastle, Northumberland, Redcar and Cleveland, South Tyneside and Sunderland and is supported by the Association of North East Councils (ANEC).

(CD)