THURROCK Council has secured a £3.2 million slice of government cash set aside to improve home energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.

And much of the cash is to be spent on Chadwell St Mary's three tower blocks - a move welcomed by local councillor Adam Carter who said: "This is a huge investment in Chadwell St Mary which will greatly improve the welfare and finances of all the residents benefiting from the heating system upgrade.

"I'm absolutely thrilled and very grateful to my Conservative colleagues and officers at Thurrock Council who have made this happen."

The money will be spent on 273 council properties in Chadwell and at the end of it residents should enjoy warmer homes and reduced fuel bills - though no doubt residents will be wary of the ongoing debacle of a £9 million refurbishment in Grays which has gone wrong, leaving many residents in colder, damper homes for many months.

The money has been claimed from the government's Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and should ensure households living in borough council properties with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of D, or lower, receive improvements to enhance their home's energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.

Housing portfolio holder Cllr Luke Spillman says: "This is great news for the many residents and families living in our council homes and I would like to thank the government for awarding us this funding.

"It will enable us to continue to support our lower-income and more vulnerable households, by making improvements that will help tackle fuel poverty by driving down their fuel bills and keeping their homes warmer and greener.

"This funding has been specifically granted to deliver the new ground source heat pump project to the three high-rise tower blocks in Chadwell St Mary. It will connect all 273 individual flats to a shared ground loop heat pump system and replace the old inefficient storage radiators and hot water systems within these three high-rise residential tower blocks.

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"This project is the first of its kind for the council and is a major step taken by our housing department to begin decarbonising its housing portfolio.

"We look forward to successfully delivering this project with the residents living within the three tower blocks. We continue to invest in our council properties to ensure all our residents have access to a good quality home."