Tenants invited to give their views in review of Community Energy Scheme

Tenants are being invited to give their views in a review of a scheme that has seen solar panels installed on thousands of council houses in the city.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council has today (Thursday 3 August) formally opened a call for evidence for tenants to contribute to the review of the Community Energy Scheme.

The scheme launched in 2018, and around 5,000 of the council’s more than 16,500 council houses in the city now have solar panels on their roofs under the initiative. The scheme was launched to help tenants lower their energy bills and generate sustainable green energy. However, a number of complaints have been raised over the course of the scheme into how it has been operated.

Tenants can now give their evidence to the review via emailing the authority at cesreview@stoke.gov.uk.

Council leader Jane Ashworth said: “We have been aware, for a number of years, that some tenants have serious concerns about the way this scheme has been operated in the past. When we took office as a new administration in May, we made it very clear that we would be giving tenants a voice for these concerns, to ensure that they are listened to and that they are acted on appropriately.

“This review is the opportunity for tenants to come forward to give their evidence. I, and my cabinet, encourage all tenants to give their feedback. We will keep the end date of the call for evidence open for as long as possible so that as many people as possible have the opportunity to give their views. But the sooner residents give their feedback, the sooner we can take this forward.”