Retrofitting every home in Reading to be carbon neutral could cost around £2 billion, according to the council, with warnings the road to carbon zero will not be easy or cheap.

The majority of Reading’s houses would need to be retrofitted to align with the council’s Climate Emergency ambitions to reach zero carbon emissions by 2030.

According to a report low carbon housing discussed at Reading Borough Council’s (RBC) Housing, Neighbourhoods and Leisure (HNL) committee, Reading has more 70,000 houses, many of them ageing and in need of retrofit.

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The estimated cost of doing this would be an average of £30,000 per house or £2 billion for the whole borough.

This led to councillors questioning how its 2030 carbon neutral target will be met.

Lib Dem councillor Meri O’Connell said: “We can’t get that amount of money alone and it is incredibly unlikely that the Government is going to give us any help.

“Are we admitting we are not going to reach those targets?”

While RBC is aiming for a carbon neutral Reading by 2030, the Government is committing to 2050 for the UK.

Labour councillor Karen Rowland said: “We all collectively as a council agreed to aim for 2030 and the fact we have a Government that is saying we don’t have to meet these targets until 2050 is a real problem.

“It is not going to get easier or prettier. We are just going to have to be dedicated as a council.

“Obviously the money is eyewatering but I’m really proud of what our council housing is doing.

“We will be bullish to the extent we can be but it’s not going to be an easy road because these are the numbers that can really cause an issue in making the 2030 date happen.”

Councillor Richard Davies, chair of HNL committee, added: “2050 is one of those dates that is forever enough in the future that you don’t need to do anything.

“2030 actually focuses the mind. We have brought through so much stuff that contributes towards that target.”

Retrofitting homes involves adding new technology to make them more efficient and reduce emissions.

While ensuring new developments are as close to zero carbon as possible has an impact, the council says the great majority of emissions from the housing sector comes from existing homes, most of which are in need of some form of retrofit to bring them up to net zero standards.

Councillor Ellie Emberson, lead member for Housing at RBC, said: “There’s a lot of work going on within our own stock in terms of retrofit and our plans for new builds.

“I think the Local Plan offers sufficient coverage in terms of private new builds as well.

“The real discussion is about existing private properties in Reading.

“Ultimately, when we have a two-decade gap in terms of what we’re committed to, it’s really difficult because there aren’t as many opportunities from the Government.

“Hopefully, by March there will be more positive news about opportunities.”

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A number of initiatives are already underway to retrofit housing in Reading but the challenge is to increase the scale and impact of these initiatives in line with the net zero by 2030 ambition.

Councillors at the meeting agreed to develop Low Carbon Housing Action Plans for both RBC housing stock and for the private sector to help to scale up the retrofitting of housing.