Witney News - Green Deal opportunity for trades and businesses

Green Deal opportunity for trades and businesses

West Oxfordshire firms and tradespeople are being encouraged to find out if they could boost their business by becoming an approved Green Deal installer.

Green Deal is a national scheme launched by the government to give householders the chance to make energy-efficiency improvements to their homes and pay the cost back through savings achieved on their bills.

To access Green Deal funding, householders need to have an assessment carried out of their property to identify suitable improvements and work must be carried out by an authorised Green Deal installer.

There are 45 measures available under the Green Deal scheme, including internal/external (solid wall) insulation, loft insulation, new boiler/heating systems, double glazing, draught proofing, renewable technologies – such as electricity and water heating solar panels.

Local businesses and tradespeople who install these types of energy-saving measures are being encouraged to join the scheme and benefit from gaining work from customers who choose to have Green Deal work carried out.

West Oxfordshire District Council is working with a consortium of other local authorities and the National Energy Foundation to set up a community interest company to become an approved Green Deal provider, to help local residents through the Green Deal process and arrange for work to be carried out by approved installers.

The consortium is organising a series of Green Deal installer workshops for businesses and tradespeople to find out more about becoming an approved installer. A FREE workshop will be taking place locally:

At The Blue Boar, Market Square, Witney
On Tuesday 2 July
8am-9am (registration and breakfast at 7.30am)

Places at the workshop are limited and need to be booked in advance as soon as possible at www.bit.ly/green-deal-installer or by calling 0300 1113330.

Cllr David Harvey, the District Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment, said: “As well as enabling householders to carry out energy improvement works with no upfront costs, the Green Deal provides a fantastic opportunity for local firms or sole traders to gain more business.

“The Government expects around 60,000 jobs to be supported in the insulation section alone by 2015 through this scheme, up from 26,000 in 2011. During a continuing difficult economic climate, this could provide a welcome boost for installation businesses and tradespeople.”

Other workshops are taking place throughout the consortium area and anyone interested in finding out more information about becoming an approved installer can contact the local community interest company Green Deal Together at www.greendealtogether.org.uk or 0300 111 3330, or by calling the national Energy Saving Advice Service on 0300 123 1234 for free, impartial advice.

More details about Green Deal are available at www.gov.uk/greendeal