Highland councillor Margaret Paterson wants to ‘fast track’ the housing insulation programme as tenants struggle to heat their homes.
Mrs Paterson described energy prices as “crippling” and said councillors have a duty to help as much as they can.
Councillor Angela Maclean also pressed the point, urging the housing committee to be more proactive in supporting tenants.
However, Highland Council housing bosses said their hands are tied.
“We’ve always tried to identify a ‘fabric first’ approach to our properties,” said Brian Cameron, housing policy and investment manager.
“Unfortunately at the minute there are severe problems in the construction industry in terms of delivering insulation works in particular. Tender costs coming back have been incredibly high and there have also been issues getting enough firms to tender for the work.”
Mr Cameron said this has led to delays with insulation works, so the council is trying to accelerate other works like double glazing in the meantime.
“I’m interested to get that conversation with members in the near future in terms of our plans for the energy efficiency of our stock. There are huge challenges here and some serious decisions we need to make.”
Highland housing hit by ‘A9 premium’
Mrs Maclean suggested the council relies too heavily on external contractors. Housing officers agreed, but said they’re working to strike a balance between in-house and procurement.
Housing executive Mark Rodgers referred to an “A9 premium for coming up the road”. Because many specialist contractors operate in the central belt, travel costs to Highland ramp up prices, and many “can’t be bothered” to make the trip.
Mr Cameron added: “The problem is we’re not coming at this from a position of strength. We have lots of old, off-gas stock so we need a lot of energy efficiency works.”
However, the housing team confirmed that they’re looking at how to do things differently. The council is working with other northern authorities including Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Moray on growing their procurement base.
Mr Rodgers also said they are “happy to have a conversation with anyone about growing our own workforce”. He confirmed that the University of the Highlands and Islands is part of that conversation.
‘What are we going to tell people?’
While the challenges are complex, newly-appointed chairwoman Glynis Sinclair reassured members that the council is taking it seriously.
Mrs Sinclair says a report on the energy crisis including housing stock will come to a meeting of the full Highland Council on September 22.
In the meantime, Mrs Maclean and Mrs Paterson both urged the committee to keep pushing.
“We should all be jumping up and down in this chamber to get support for our tenants,” said Mrs Maclean.
Mrs Paterson added: “What are we going to do, what are we going to tell our people as winter comes?
“We have to work on this now. It’s absolutely urgent.”
Are you interested in more exclusive and breaking Highland and Islands news from the P&J? If so, why not join our dedicated Facebook page HERE
Conversation