A Leeds-based community interest organisation has taken the first steps towards £7.5m worth of new European funding which will help thousands of low income households living in hard to treat homes receive energy saving measures.

Community Energy Solutions (CES), based on The Calls in central Leeds, is a non-profit distributing organisation, working in deprived communities to help upgrade their fuel and insulation solutions to cleaner, greener and cheaper options.

Now, CES has received the news that its application to the Yorkshire and Humber European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) has passed the first hurdle. It has several more stages to go through before the funding can be approved.

Lee Cattermole, Operations Director for CES, said: “We are under no illusions that we still have much work to do before the funding is finally approved, but just to get through the first phase of the application is great news.