Guide to help make homes more economical and environmentally friendly launched

Householders across Three Rivers are being encouraged to make their homes greener, more wildlife friendly and more economical to run with the help of a new guide to sustainable home improvements.

Three Rivers District Council has launched its Guide to Greening Your Home  – a document which contains an array of improvements that residents can make to help their homes work with nature and become more economical, healthier and even a more pleasant place to live.

The guide details a number of changes that may not require planning permission as they are classed as ‘permitted development’. Others outlined will require planning permission – but the easy to read guide is designed to help residents identify what can be done and how to go about doing it.

The guide helps with changes ranging from double and triple glazing, loft and wall insulation to solar panels, flood mitigation and electrical vehicle charging points. It also covers home and garden improvements to help local wildlife with additions such as bird and bat boxes, bee hotels and hedgehog homes.

Funding opportunities and discounts for green home improvements including water butts, composters, heat pumps, and other energy efficiency improvements are also highlighted in the newly published document.

Cllr Phil Williams, the council's Lead Member for Environmental Services, Climate Change and Sustainability, said: “Renovating your home can be the perfect time to incorporate changes to reduce your energy and water use, and enhance its value to nature. This guide is just another step we are taking as a council to help our residents lower their energy and water usage and make their homes more environmentally friendly places to live. Amid the climate and ecological emergencies we face, it is more important than ever that we act to protect and enhance the environments in which we live.”

Three Rivers District Council declared a climate emergency in 2019 and is committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2030 for our own emissions and by 2045 for the district.

The council’s

sets out how it plans to improve and lead by example in its own operations. It also sets out how the council will work with and assist the residents, businesses, and other stakeholders of the district to reduce their impact on the environment, improve sustainability and also adapt to and build resilience to a changing climate.

You can read the full guide here.