Households

One of four Activities lodged by Central Suffolk Community Energy (CSCE) with the regulator is ‘sourcing and coordination of advice and services to communities and households to reduce their carbon footprint, including the promotion of relevant and up to date grant information and other financial assistance’.

We know that peoples’ reasons for moving away from fossil fuel-based energy are different, but usually are a combination of reducing energy bills, energy source resilience, having a more marketable home when they come to sell it and playing their part in reducing our overall carbon footprint, especially for future generations. Whatever the motivation, the change is likely to result in a significant investment, making it vital that it is researched and planned. Change because of an emergency e.g. the final failure of a dated oil boiler should be avoided, ideally. So even if you decide not to make any changes immediately, knowing what your likely contingency plan is makes a great deal of sense.

To help householders tackle a move away from fossil fuels, CSCE provides summary guidance on how to start out, resources that should help along the way and lessons learnt from those who have undertaken conversions to date, together with details of grant funding available in central Suffolk this will be updated and added to over time.

Understanding your house and how you use it is invariably the best start point. Our House Survey is designed to collect the base information which will be required by any qualified contractor, but also give you pointers as to what you should consider doing. Generally, properly fitted and appropriate to the property insulation will prove the best investment you can make. For period homes, Historic England provides lots of helpful information and advice. On 23 July 2024 Historic England published an advice note entitled ‘Adapting Historic Buildings for Energy and Carbon Efficiency’. A copy is available here. It provides many useful pointers.

Having identified what you want to do and in which order, you should consider what financial help is available. Our Grants Table provides a summary of what can be accessed currently in central Suffolk. We update this regularly, but you should follow through on the links provided through to the websites of individual scheme funders as they can change with limited notice.

Our FAQs provide responses to some of the questions that maybe important to you. If you have a relevant question that isn’t covered, please contact us using the form below and we’ll endeavour to provide a response, albeit we cannot give advice or provide property specific answers.

Outside Conservation Areas and listed buildings and their curtilage, most changes are deemed permitted development. In Conservation Areas, of which there are three in central Suffolk in Coddenham, Debenham and Needham Market, rules apply. Currently Mid-Suffolk District Council doesn’t have a guidance page on its website, but East Suffolk Council does. (Some parishes in central Suffolk fall under East Suffolk District council. The page is located here. It is highly likely that Mid-Suffolk will have the same policies. However, we recommend that in conservation areas or where a listed building is involved, you speak to a planning officer for their advice as to how best to proceed. This should avoid later problems including when you come to sell your property.

We will add case studies in due course.

Energy Questionnaire

Grants Table

FAQs