Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and its partners are coming together to make energy saving advice clearer and easier to access as part of the Feel the Benefit campaign.
This campaign aims to help residents better understand how upgrades to their homes can help make them greener, warmer, and cheaper to run, driving them to engage with the advice, support, and potentially even free or discounted upgrades. This will support Greater Manchester to reach its target to be carbon neutral by 2038.
Councillor Tom Ross, Greater Manchester Lead for Green City-Region, said: “Rising energy bills are a key contributor to the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, with some residents forced to choose between heating their homes and paying for other life essentials. Heat loss from homes that are poorly insulated only makes this worse, with many residents still relying on heating technologies that are long overdue an upgrade.
“Our Feel the Benefit campaign is here to help residents make a change for the better. By raising awareness of what’s available and guiding residents through the process of upgrading their homes, we’ll help thousands lower their energy bills – not to mention supporting the push towards our ambitious, evidence-based target for Greater Manchester to become carbon neutral by 2038.”
Poorly insulated or inefficiently heated homes have a big impact on the environment, significantly contributing to the UK’s carbon emissions. Cold homes can also be harmful to people’s health and wellbeing. They can cause respiratory conditions and cardiovascular diseases, contribute to poor mental health and worsen the effects of dementia.
Energy efficient home upgrades can help tackle these issues and lower residents’ bills. Greater Manchester residents can check their eligibility online on GMCA’s eligibility checker, entering details about their home and circumstances to find out what support they might be eligible to receive.
However, residents will also be able to access in-person advice across all ten districts of Greater Manchester, so that there are no barriers to accessing support. Residents can get in touch with the local partners delivering this guidance in their area directly:
District | Local partner | Telephone | |
Bolton | Bolton Council / Bolton at Home | 01204 328 177 | lead@boltonathome.org.uk |
Bury | Bury Council / The Growth Company | 0161 228 1111 | lola@greeneconomy.co.uk |
Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, and Tameside | Groundwork Greater Manchester | 0800 090 3638 | Energyworks@groundwork.org.uk |
Salford, Stockport, and Trafford | Your Home Better | 0161 883 7979 | LEAD@yourhomebetter.co.uk |
Wigan | Wigan Council | 01942 489 209 | EnergyAdvice@wigan.gov.uk |
Additionally, residents can visit energy advice hubs at B&Q stores in Trafford Park and Cheetham Hill for in-person advice and support.