City West Housing Trust residents receive help with heating bills

Bullock Construction are currently working with City West Housing Trust (CWHT) to deliver a £14 million investment programme. The project is a flagship scheme and it will see the transformation of 228 properties across four high-rise blocks in Eccles. The blocks will be given new kitchens and bathrooms and a complete rewire. New energy efficient boilers, double glazed windows and doors will also be installed. The communal areas will also be fully refurbished giving the blocks a high quality finish and providing additional facilities for residents. The outside of the blocks will be overclad, making them warmer and more visually pleasing.

As part of the improvement programme an Ecopod has been installed to help keep vulnerable residents’ fuel costs down over the winter months. A giant crane lifted the pod onto Engles House. The pod has been designed by the Warrington based company Belfry Group. Keith Rimmer, Managing Director of Belfry said: “It was a spectacular sight to see the Ecopod being lifted into position by a giant crane.”

Colette McKune, Director of Asset Management at City West said: “The solution from Belfry will enable us to heat properties at a cost that our residents can afford. It will also provide us with an automatic alert when vulnerable residents are not using heating and hot water, which is a great early warning mechanism especially during the winter months.”

Mark Matthams, Project Manager for Bullock said: “From a personal point of view this is one of the best projects that I have been involved in. I’ve worked with CWHT and the designers over the past 18 months ensuring that the design and products are the very best for the project. We have had several visits to view various heating options before the decision was made to use the EcoPod. City West, deserve the upmost respect for having the foresight to deliver a truly innovative project that will greatly benefit the residents, not only will they have a home that will be given a modern new look, they’ll also be given support with their energy usage”.