November 22, 2006

MEDIA STATEMENT

Clean Heat goes door-to-door in Christchurch

Six students will go door-to-door today in Christchurch to help increase people’s awareness of their eligibility for Environment Canterbury Clean Heat subsidies. The household visits will run up to Christmas then resume in February for a few weeks. Students will be clearly identified by their blue logo-embossed t-shirts and Clean Heat Project identification.

Residents in Riccarton, Fendalton, Beckenham, Cashmere, Papanui, Merivale and St Albans, all areas with high woodburner use, are the first that can expect a personal visit. The students will be able to tell householders whether they are likely to qualify for subsidies for clean heating and insulation. They can also make an appointment for a free, no-obligations heating assessment.

“We have been very successful in making the Clean Heat subsidies known since the project started three years ago,” says Mike Gaudin, ECan’s Clean Heat manager. “However we know that some people may not realise that they are eligible and are missing out or may just not have got around to looking into their eligibility.”

The Clean Heat Project was set up to encourage Christchurch people to replace their woodburner or open fire with cleaner forms of heating. It aims to mitigate the social effects of the Christchurch Air Plan, not yet operative, which proposes to ban open fires and old woodburners. Since 2003, when it first started subsidising insulation and clean heating, the project has provided more than 13,000 heating assessments and more than 7,000 conversions.

For more information or to apply for the Clean Heat Project, phone 353 WARM (353 9276) or visit www.cleanheat.org.nz

ENDS

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