Insulation trial for Dundee’s oldest housing estate approved by councillors

A trial for internal wall insulation that could slash tenants heating bills in some areas of Dundee is set for early next year.

A £200,000 budget has been allocated to the project which is set to start on four buildings in January and completed the following March.

The project aims to insulate buildings where external insulation is not an option, making homes more energy efficient and help residents slash their energy bills.

The bid was unanimously approved by councillors at a neighbourhood regeneration, housing and estate management committee meeting on Monday.

Mark Flynn, convener of the committee, said: “I think everyone welcomes the fact we are doing another option to try and see if we can actually benefit the difficult housing within the city.”

Two of the trial buildings will be on Tullideph Road while the other two, set to be trialled on the Logie estate, are still to be confirmed.

The Logie estate, opened in 1920, is the oldest in Scotland and is now a conservation area to protect its history.

But this has caused difficulty in improving homes on the estate and has left the installation of external insultation completely ruled out.

It comes after council tenants reported being unable to keep their homes warm in winter.

Fraser Macpherson, West End councillor and Dundee City Council’s Liberal Democrat group leader, has long been campaigning for internal insulation on the estate.

He said: “This has been a very long time coming.

“I’ve been banging on about internal wall insulation, specifically in the Logie estate as officers know, for a very very long time.”

What could tenants expect in future?

The house improvements tenants could expect are as follows:

• Triple Glazing

• Loft Insulation top up or floor insulation where possible

• Internal Wall Insulation fixed to existing walls

• Mechanical ventilation and heat recovery

‘Treat the city with parity’

Some councillors called on the pilot to be rolled out in all areas of the city, including Labour’s Georgia Cruickshank who represents the Maryfield ward.

She said: “I welcome this pilot scheme for the internal wall insulation because for long a time there have been areas in my ward not suitable for the external wall insulation.

“I’m sure they will be highly annoyed when they hear the west end is benefiting from the pilot.

“What I would say is when making decisions like this, we treat the city with parity.

“There’s a west and there’s a east and it would have been nice if the east had been included in this pilot as well.”