West Midlands Mayor begs Boris Johnson to put them in charge of ripping out dirty boilers to avoid Brits being stung
A POWERFUL regional mayor has begged Boris Johnson to put them in charge of ripping out boilers to stop Brits being stung by hefty charges in the drive to go Green.
West Midlands Mayor Andy Street told The Sun that the Government has not delivered fast enough on cash for eco-friendly projects and demanded more powers so he can save locals £250 a year on bills, and save lives in winter.
At a Green Alliance event, he called on ministers to cough up the money to regions who would then help get it to families who need it, in a new Green Home Grant-style scheme.
He said: “We would use that cash better if it were devolved. If you do it en masse, in a small neighbourhood, you will make savings for citizens.”
Mr Street said it was vital to show Brits that going green can be good for wallets.
And in frank words to the nation, he admitted on getting to net zero emissions: “Is it going to cost us a lot of money? Of course it is – an enormous amount.”
He insisted that ministers had to distribute the cash fairly to go green, so it wouldn’t hit Sun readers, adding: “There cannot be that there is a cost of transition that citizens cannot bear.”
The West Midlands boss said: “Heat pumps, boilers, insulation, double glazing – we believe we could coordinate those activities really well on the ground.
“We’re big enough to do it at a relevant scale, but small enough to link it to local communities.
“It’s a lot more about the cash than the powers, the Government has set aside a considerable sum for this, but the grants were for individuals, not devolved.”
He has put forward plans to Housing and Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick and Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, who are said to be “sympathetic” to their call.
Mr Street said he could even deliver a local carbon reduction target in exchange for them letting him run his local system, but added: “to achieve that, we will need some funding, and some powers.”
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