Cosy Homes in Lancashire wins Ashden Award for fuel poverty work

Cosy Homes in Lancashire (CHiL) has been honoured with a 2016 Ashden Award for its work improving the health and standard of living of some of the most vulnerable people in the county, and simultaneously cutting carbon emissions.

CHiL is a partnership between 14 local authorities in Lancashire and is helping to keep homes warm and prevent fuel poverty in Lancashire.

The Ashden Awards are a globally recognised measure of excellence in the field of sustainable energy.

The scheme launched in April 2014 and has already assisted more than 1,000 households, offering free or subsidised insulation and boilers and giving advice on energy tariff switching.

The Award judges said the CHiL programme showed “A huge team effort by 14 local authorities across Lancashire who, despite limited funding, have cleverly pooled resources in order to prioritise energy efficiency, tackle fuel poverty and improve the health of residents living in old housing stock.”

In a challenging funding environment they are managing to maximise the number of vulnerable households they can reach, and people living in old, expensive to treat houses can still be helped by the scheme.  

"We are delighted to have won a 2016 Ashden Award in recognition of the tremendous effort everyone involved has made to making CHiL the success that it is.” CHiL will be presented with its award at a ceremony being hosted by BBC journalist Mishal Husain at the Royal Geographical Society in London on Thursday 9 June, when the winners of the Ashden UK and International Gold Awards will also be announced.