Centres for Warmth in Sutton Coldfield

Living in Sutton Coldfield and want to reduce your home energy bills? 

BVSC, Age Concern Birmingham and ecobirmingham will be opening 6 new Centres for Warmth in Sutton Coldfield, at the start of October, with funding from NAVCA and Cadent.  

What is a Centre for Warmth? 

A Centre for Warmth is a free drop in session where people can get:  

• Home energy advice to reduce energy use, save money, stay warm and comfortable and reduce carbon emissions to help tackle climate change; 
• Information about how the Priority Services Register can help you and support to sign up to it; 
• Benefits and debt advice and support; 
• Free slow cookers and BrumEnergy warm home items; 
• Gas Safety support and advice. 

Our Free Home Energy Advice 

Our drop in sessions are open to everyone and all services are free. 

Our qualified energy advisers will give you free, independent advice on changes you can make to your home and handy hints to save energy. Whether you are worried about the cost of bills this winter, keeping warm and comfortable or looking to reduce carbon emissions to help tackle climate change, we can help you to achieve your goals. It doesn’t matter if you rent or own your home, we can offer advice and practical support to help make your home more energy efficient. 

From quick wins like installing LED lightbulbs and draught excluders, to DIY or professionals required for fitting insulation, solar panels or heating technology, we can help you decide what is best to do for you and your home, and signpost you on to any grants or other support that might be available for you. Working with BrumEnergy we will also be able to offer some free warm home items, and refer you onwards for a home visit for more in depth advice. 

If you are struggling with energy bills, we will be able to give you advice and support on making sure that you are maximising your income and claiming all benefits available, and give you access to in depth debt advice and support if needed. 

Alongside this advice service, we can help you access further support from Cadent, your gas distribution company, through the Priority Services Register. We’ll let you know if you are eligible to sign up for this free service, and help you to do so. This ensures you get extra support and quick help when you need it from energy and utility companies and organisations like Cadent.  

Gas Safety Week (9-15 September) 

It’s Gas Safety Week this week (9 -15 September). Although this is an annual national safety campaign, we want to help keep you and your home safe all year round. Information on gas safety is also available on an ongoing basis through Centres for Warmth. A visit to one of our centres will give you the opportunity to pick up a free Carbon Monoxide alarm, get access to free gas safety checks for home appliances, and get further advice and support. Top tips for gas safety are also available here on the Gas Safety Week website. 

“BVSC is delighted to have been successful in securing funding to enable us to partner with Age Concern Birmingham and ecobirmingham to set up and run six new Centres for Warmth in the Sutton Coldfield constituency.    We are grateful to our funders, NAVCA and Cadent, whose support will enable our partnership to provide much needed energy advice and help to local people - including home energy advice, debt support, free gas safety checks and free carbon monoxide detectors.   This work is timely and hugely valuable, as it will enable residents to stay safe and warm in ways that create a net positive impact on our environment.”  
Brian Carr, CEO, BVSC”

“Age Concern Birmingham are pleased to be part of the Centres for Warmth partnership, the project is much needed and will allow us to reach and support more people across Sutton Coldfield.”
Becky Bews, CEO, Age Concern Birmingham

“ecobirmingham are proud to be supporting the Centres for Warmth and providing residents with free energy saving advice that may help in reducing the cost of bills and the impact on the environment.  Gas Safety Week reminds us of our responsibility to get all our gas appliances checked by a regulated engineer, so they work more efficiently, produce less emissions and keep our families healthy and safe. You can come and speak to one of our advisors in your local Centre for Warmth"
Kam Bola – Interim Director ecobirmingham

Centre for Warmth Locations 

If you don’t live in Sutton Coldfield but in the wider Birmingham area, you could still be eligible for home energy advice from BrumEnergy. Please check out our website for details: www.bvsc.org/brumenergy  

Further Information 

For further information, please contact Tom Holness at BVSC – [email protected]