Wigan Council near top of regional league table for boiler replacements

A boiler being maintained. Photo by Shutterstock

Government figures show how many new boilers had to be installed in local authority houses.

Of the 2,609 boilers replaced in the North West in social housing in 2019-20, a sizeable 930 of them were in Wigan.

That gives the borough a replacement rate of 4.26 per cent, the third-highest in the region.

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Wigan Council said the high numbers were due to an ongoing boiler replacement scheme across its housing stock.

Penny McGinty, assistant director of corporate contracts and assets at the town hall, said: “Ensuring our residents live in quality homes is a key priority for us.

“In line with this commitment, we started a boiler replacement programme in 2019, which intended to replace older boilers at risk of regular breakdown or that had a limited supply of parts, with newer models.

“A key aim of this contract was to increase the efficiency of our properties, which ultimately leads to lower gas bills and higher reliability.

“Not only does this save residents and the council money, but it also plays a part in helping the environment.

“The appliances we’re still in the process of replacing have provided excellent value for money but it’s important to ensure they’re renewed appropriately.”

In the North West neighbouring West Lancashire had the highest replacement percentage, followed by Cheshire West and Chester.

The figures were published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).

OnlineMortgageAdvisor.co.uk, which carried out the data analysis, said having a working and reliable boiler has been more important than ever over the past 12 months due to people having to stay at home under the Covid-19 restrictions.

Having boilers replaced during 2019-20 could, therefore, have been good news for Wigan residents in lockdown, when many boilers ran on overtime due to fewer people being out of their homes during the day.

The survey only includes local authorities with more than 5,000 homes and does not take into account private dwellings.

The North West had the sixth-highest rate of boiler replacements in England.

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