AN innovative scheme which has introduced low-emission homes in the Maldon district has won a regional award.

Dutch energy efficiency initiative Energiesprong refurbished houses in partnership with Moat Housing to slash energy bills.

The project won in the innovation category at the first Housing Essex Excellence Awards hosted by Essex County Council at Chelmsford’s County Hotel.

The home improvement scheme is the first of its kind in the south east.

Jason Amos, director of property services at Moat, said: “We are delighted by the win and the widespread interest that our Energiesprong initiative has generated.

“Managing our homes isn’t just about bricks and mortar.

“We want to ensure that we are doing our utmost to protect the environment and provide our customers with beautiful, low energy and low cost, environmentally-friendly homes.

“Our next steps will be to take the lessons learnt from this project and develop a way to deliver more at scale.”

The awards aim to recognise high quality developments, services and individuals from the public, private and voluntary sector and promote best practice.

Local authorities will be expected to produce their own design guides, laying out the requirements for new homes and retrofitting existing homes in the coming years.

This is part of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s scheme to ban heating systems based on fossil fuels from newly-constructed homes by 2025 under the Future Homes Standard.

A spokesman for Energiesprong said: “The pilot homes in Maldon were chosen because while they had a middling energy efficiency rating, they were particularly hard to heat and expensive for residents. They are surrounded front and back by open farmland and catch the cold North Sea wind.

“Prior to the refurbishment energy bills could be £2,000 a year. Under this new scheme tenants will pay significantly less and homes will have an ‘A’ energy efficiency rating.”