Castle Point's caravans blamed for low energy rating

Figures from the 2011 census showed Castle Point had the sixth highest number of households living in caravans in England

A district in Essex has been rated as being one of the worst for energy efficiency in England, a council said.

Data showed 21.4% of homes in Castle Point had an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of C or above, compared to the national average of 41%.

It has been blamed largely on the number of households living in caravans as their permanent home.

The borough council said 250 park homes have now had their insulation upgraded.

EPCs are graded from A-G. The closer to A, the more efficient the home, while grade G is at the other end of the scale. C is just above average.

Andrew Sheldon, Conservative leader of Castle Point Borough Council, said: "We have a lot of park homes in the borough in privately-owned parks and unless they are properly insulated they tend to be far less energy efficient than bricks and mortar homes."

He said a £2.3m grant was used to fully upgrade the insulation on 250 private park homes at Kings Park Village on Canvey Island, and the work was completed in the autumn.

Mr Sheldon said the upgrades could "cut each household's energy bills by hundreds of pounds every year".

Data showed 21.4% of homes in Castle Point had an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of C or above, compared to the national average of 41%

Figures from the 2011 census showed Castle Point had the sixth highest number of households living in caravans in England.

Kings Park Village was one of four caravan sites in the district that between them have more than 1,200 caravans permanently occupied, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The others were Holehaven Caravan Park, Kingsley Park and Thorney Bay.

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The data from November 2021 showed the borough of Tower Hamlets in east London had the highest number of homes with good energy ratings, with almost three quarters with an EPC rating of C or above.

In Essex, the number of homes with an EPC rating of C or above was below the national average in all districts.

The Isles of Scilly had the worst average rating in England with just 11% of homes with an EPC rating of C or above.