The Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s (GMCA) highly successful Green Deal Communities Programme has been awarded the ‘Large Scale Project of the Year Award’ at this year’s National Energy Efficiency & Retrofit Awards.

The accolade, in recognition of the GMCA’s ‘Little Bill’ scheme, was presented to representatives from the GMCA and commercial delivery partners Keepmoat Regeneration, Willmott Dixon Energy Services Limited and Wates Living Space by actress Joanna Lumley.  

Chair of the Greater Manchester Low Carbon Hub, City Mayor Paul Dennett said:

“It is absolutely fantastic we have been recognised nationally for the Little Bill campaign.
We are passionate about doing all we can to protect the most vulnerable in our society from the cold and rising energy costs.

"Simple measures implemented as part of the scheme, such as loft and cavity wall insulation, have helped people save up to £300 a year. This makes a massive difference to their lives – particularly those who are struggling to make ends meet. It really can be the difference between heating and eating.”

Launched in 2014, the ‘Little Bill’ Green Deal Communities scheme was tasked by the Government’s Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), formerly known as Department of Energy and Climate Change, to deliver the largest national domestic energy efficiency retrofit scheme. Over 1200 households were to receive energy efficiency measures such as external wall insulation.  

Greater Manchester’ ‘Little Bill’ was the first scheme to complete and deliver all installations within the Government's deadline. The original Government funding was bolstered by additional funds of; £1.2M total customer contributions, £948,000 of Local Authority contributions and £589,100 of energy company obligation funds, making the net worth of this project £8.8M.

The GMCA’s ‘Little Bill’ received positive feedback from residents across Greater Manchester who benefited from the scheme.  Residents reported having warmer homes and a greater understanding of their personal energy consumption as a result of improvement works. Aesthetic improvements to homes and neighbourhoods were also highlighted as a major benefit of the scheme.