Standards for windows.

Formartine Area Committee actually brought themselves to agree with Cllr Paul Johnston and I today!

We argued that it was disgraceful that the standards for replacement windows in Sheltered Housing just barely met building regulations while the council put better windows that woudl reduce heating costs into other properties. I want the highest standards in both!  But is is very important to put low u-value windows into properties occupied by some of the most vulnerable people in society.  This reduce their fuel bills in future helping achieve reduction in fuel poverty aims as well as reducing CO2 emissions.

After some resistance, the committee finally agreed to raise the matter with Social Work and Housing.  Thanks to Cllrs Duncan and Davidson for chipping in.

I put down my marker now - if standards are not improved, I will be voting to reject contracts in future.

Fuel poverty

With increasing fuel prices, we also see rising fuel poverty which is defined as needing to spend more than 10% income on fuel.  Now fuel prices regardless of source are set to continue to rise and the rate of rise is likely to be faster than any rise in income.

We have to move to having better insulated homes that require minimal heating.    Aberdeenshire has been given £170,000 to bring 20 houses up to the 2016 building standards. That works out at £8,500 a home.  That is a start but with over 100,000 houses in Aberdeenshire it is a drop in an ocean. We know what needs to be done - there is oodles of advice out there.

The problem is up front cost versus cost reduction later.  We need a scheme where homes can be upgraded and the reduction in fuel costs is shared between paying back the cost and providing benefit to the household.

There is a win win win available.

• We can remove fuel poverty.
• We can reduce CO2 emissions.
• And we can have more comfortable homes.

When are we going to stop having "pilot" and "demonstrator" schemes and actually put in place something that will actually make an impact!