Are you eligible for a new boiler?

The scheme offers new boilers to properties in disadvantaged areas, or will repair faulty ones.

Yorkshire Housing’s Rotherham Improvement Agency has been given a £100,000 grant by Rotherham Borough Council to pay for the scheme.

The initiative is aimed at helping vulnerable homeowners and private tenants.

A large number of deprived areas across Rotherham will be targeted by the initiative, Yorkshire Housing said.

The scheme is to be launched at a new advice surgery being organised by borough councillor Jeanette Mallinder at the New Street surgery in Dinnington on Friday (January 8) from 9am to 11am.

Homeowners and private tenants in receipt of means-tested benefits or living with long-term health conditions are eligible for the funding with priority being given to private residents living in areas of deprivation with high levels of fuel poverty.

At the launch in Dinnington, Yorkshire Housing’s Yvonne Allot will provide advice and information about the scheme and take referrals.

Figures for Rotherham show that nearly 10,000 households are affected by fuel poverty which contributes to excess winter deaths. Last year such deaths were the highest for 15 years. 

Yorkshire Housing Rotherham home improvement manager Layla Gorman said: “People who own their own home but have a limited income can often end up running old and inefficient heating systems if they don’t have money to replace them.

“This means it becomes difficult for them to afford to heat their home, putting them at risk of health problems. It can also be difficult for people if their heating system breaks down. 

“This scheme will address this problem by providing replacement boilers and heating systems for those most in need. We will also provide energy efficiency and benefit advice to help people be able to afford to heat their home.”

Homeowners who think they may be eligible are urged to contact the Rotherham Home Improvement Agency on 0114 256 4270 or by email at [email protected].

Referrals will also be made by partner agencies such as voluntary organisations, and via hospital discharge. Yorkshire Housing will be using a scoring matrix to determine those most in need of support.

Cllr Jeanette Mallinder welcomed the initiative and said she was delighted it was being launched at her surgery in Dinnington, an area with deprivation problems.

She told the Advertiser: “We have large pockets of significant deprived families and this would be a brilliant opportunity for them.”