MORE than 100 homes in Runcorn are due to be upgraded after a housing association secured £1.4m to improve energy efficiency.

Onward has been successful in securing the money to deliver energy efficiency upgrades in its tenants’ homes.

The cash is part of the wider Liverpool City Region Combined Authority’s bid for over £11 million from the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF), set up to help decarbonise the UK’s social housing stock to tackle fuel poverty, reduce carbon emissions and increase the energy efficiency of homes.

The funding will be used to retrofit 129 bungalows in Murdishaw, creating what Onward called ‘more sustainable, greener and energy efficient homes for residents’.

Onward plans to use this funding to install energy efficient glazed windows and doors, as well as heightened external wall and roof insulation.

Onward Chief Executive Bronwen Rapley, said: “The award of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund is an important milestone that will increase our capacity to deliver improvements to make our properties more sustainable and energy efficient, whilst also supporting our wider regeneration objectives.

“Onward is working with local partners and the community on a wider regeneration programme for Murdishaw.

"Our retrofit programme is another critical step in this journey and presents a real opportunity to provide quality, sustainable homes for residents.”

James Hill, Property Strategy Director at Onward, added: “Onward has been working with local partners and residents on a community-led regeneration in Murdishaw, which sets out a vision to regenerate the area.

"As part of this process, we identified that the bungalows on the estate required improvements to enhance their overall energy efficiency.”