29 September 2005, Walthamstow: Residents with an annual income of less than £15,000 are set to benefit from a new £96,000 heating grant scheme called PEECHES (Priority Energy Efficiency Central Heating Scheme), it was announced today.

Waltham Forest Council and New Opportunities for Walthamstow (NOW) are funding the scheme.

Waltham Forest Council contributed £80,000 and NOW (www.walthamstownow.co.uk) £16,000 towards the scheme. The Council's £80,000 will enable 52 homes to have central heating installed by providing £1,500 of funding towards a new system. Residents will have to pay the balance.

The NOW funding will be used to match council funding in extreme cases where residents cannot afford to raise the balance - and where there is a health risk associated with the lack of heating (as assessed by a health professional).

PEECHES is managed by the North East London Energy Efficiency Advice Centre (NELEEAC) in partnership with Walthamstow's Home Energy Efficiency Training (HEET).

Qualifying Residents For The PEECHES Scheme
Work will be carried out on a first come first served basis for those residents who qualify for the Heating Grant Scheme. Priority will be given to those who are over the age of 60 years.

To qualify residents must

	Either live in their own home or in private rented accommodation and on an income of less than £15,000 per annum.
	Live within the 'NOW Area' - the geographical area in which NOW operates.

All residents taking part in the scheme will also be able to access additional services via HEET's NOW funded project Safe and Warm homes that will supply FREE loft and wall insulation, draught proofing and security upgrades as appropriate.

Cllr David Blunt, Cabinet Member for Environment, said: "I'm delighted we're able to offer some practical help to some of the more vulnerable members of our community who find just paying for heating bills can be a real struggle."

Tom Ruxton, Director, HEET, said: "Warmth is a basic human need. An inability to keep your home warm can have serious consequences for a person's health. Waltham Forest has the highest proportion of households without central heating in London and fuel poverty is 50 per cent worse in this borough than the national average. The PEECHES scheme and the NOW funded Safe & Warm project help to rectify these inequalities and enable vulnerable people to stay safe, warm and healthy."

Mrs Ellis, a Walthamstow resident, is one of the first beneficiaries of this years' scheme. A new central heating was installed along with loft insulation, draught proofing and new locks on all doors and windows.

Mrs Ellis, aged 74, said: "It's so good to have a heating for winter, and I was surprised how simple and quick it was to install. The other security works are excellent and I feel a lot more warmer, healthier and comfortable in my home."

Resident Information About The Winter Heating Grant Scheme
Further information and advice can be obtain from Thomas Donkor, the Project Manager, North East London Energy Efficiency Advice Centre in Church Hill, Walthamstow on 020 8509 4360 and HEET on 0208 520 1900. To find out about NOW's Safe & Warm Homes' project on the web and see the NOW Area in detail visit: www.walthamstownow.co.uk

END

FURTHER INFORMATION:

Tom Ruxton, Director, HEET, 020 8520 1900, theheetproject@hotmail.com
William Kallaway, NOW Media Relations, 020 7221 7883, now@kallaway.co.uk
Melissa Hoskins, LBWF Communications Manager, 020 8496 4858,
Melissa.Hoskins@walthamforest.gov.uk

NOTES TO EDITORS

Safe & Warm is funded by NOW and run by HEET. The Safe & Warm team works with local health visitors, social workers and others who regularly visit the homes of vulnerable people. These people help HEET to identify households where cold and damp living conditions are impacting on a person's health. They also help to identify households that are vulnerable or fearful of burglary - older, housebound and disabled people are often targeted by thieves. If any of the poor home issues are identified, HEET visits the house, upgrades the insulation and installs anti-burglary measures.

HEET received over £41,000 of NOW Funding for the Safe and Warm initiative between October 2003 and March 2005.

Since 2003 NOW funding has enabled Safe & Warm to:

	Provide 99 households in the NOW area with energy efficiency heating and/or measures to reduce condensation/damp
	Upgrade the security of 61 households to help prevent burglaries.

Further information: www.walthamstownow.co.uk/project_safe_warm_homes.htm

NEW OPPORTUNITIES for WALTHAMSTOW
New Opportunities for Walthamstow (NOW) is a seven year £56m regeneration programme to make Walthamstow a better place to live, work and visit. NOW started in 1999 with Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) funding from the Government Office for London. The SRB is now administered by the London Development Agency (LDA) and the NOW programme has received match funding from many sources including the London Borough of Waltham Forest, Waltham Forest voluntary sector groups, London Buses, the European Union and private companies.

Further Information on NOW and its projects: www.walthamstownow.co.uk