Prime Minister Boris Johnson made the announcement before the start of the G7 summit in St Ives and Carbis Bay.
In September 2019, Camborne, St Ives, Truro and Penzance were among 100 towns around the UK to be invited by the government to put forward a Town Investment Plan and each seek up to £25m funding for transformation projects that would boost the local economy and open up new opportunities for Cornwall’s residents.
Our energy efficiency project is one of 29 projects that formed part of the St Ives bid which has been successful in securing £19.9m from the government.
It means we hope to be able to improve the thermal efficiency of many of our properties in the town, which will directly benefit households through increased affordability and reducing the carbon footprint.
The project also includes the provision of green stores for cycles and waste storage for social housing and encouraging environmentally friendly waste management and sustainable transport.
Our Green Funding Manager, Tim Wotton, said: “This is fantastic news for the town of St Ives who will benefit from this funding.
“Our project will mean we can hopefully drive better energy efficiency in some of our homes in the town through affordable warmth which, in turn, will tackle fuel poverty.
“The funding will hopefully allow us to improve the energy efficiency of over 188 of our homes in St Ives and create the start of a town wide green revolution.
“We are already working with key stakeholders and other companies who, on the back of our Towns fund plans, are keen to invest and provide benefits and opportunities that extend well beyond just LiveWest’s homes and customers.”
“The funding proposals support the delivery of our environmental strategy, which not only aims to make our existing homes more sustainable now and in the future, but aims to create a green revolution in housing across the South West.
“It’s fantastic to see LiveWest and social housing leading the way in delivering the green revolution.
“LiveWest’s investment, alongside the towns fund and other government green homes funding, means that we are not only improving homes and the lives of our customers, addressing fuel poverty, reducing the environmental impact of housing but also that we are creating new jobs, developing skills and ensuring Cornwall has a green/retrofit supply chain that will benefit all those who live in the county.”
The Towns Investment Plans include projects that focus on enhancing natural and cultural capital, supporting biodiversity to promote wellbeing and productivity, resilience to climate change impacts.
They also will ensure greener, safer, healthier and resilient communities and businesses, empowered, equitable, connected and circular local economies that all members of the community contribute to and benefit from and regenerated vibrant towns and town centres providing important functions relevant to the residents and business community, as well as its historic, natural and cultural assets.