Terraces and gas
East Lancashire's homes are overwhelmingly terraced. Across the five councils, 94,362 of 202,059 households lived in a terraced house in 2021, and in Pendle and Hyndburn it was about half. Almost every home is on the gas network: off-gas shares ranged from 2.65% in Hyndburn to 4.57% in Rossendale. So here a heat pump nearly always replaces a gas boiler in a terraced house.
| Council | Households | No gas meter | Oil only | Electric only | Terraced | Detached | Grants paid | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burnley | 39,872 | 3.06% | 0.4% | 4.4% | 46.6% | 14.2% | 37 | 312 |
| Pendle | 38,067 | 4.25% | 1.5% | 3.2% | 52.7% | 14.5% | 75 | 335 |
| Hyndburn | 34,792 | 2.65% | 0.3% | 3.7% | 50.4% | 12.7% | 44 | 116 |
| Rossendale | 30,562 | 4.57% | 0.8% | 3.8% | 41.5% | 21.7% | 84 | 275 |
| Blackburn with Darwen | 58,766 | 3.31% | 0.5% | 4.4% | 43.4% | 15.2% | 97 | 227 |
What a terrace means for a heat pump
Under England's Class G rule a terraced house can have one air source unit. The back yard or rear wall is usually the spot, because a road-facing wall above the ground floor is ruled out everywhere and, inside a conservation area, nothing may face the street. The MCS 020 a) sound calculation measures the noise at the nearest neighbouring window, which in a terraced row can be close, so position and a quiet model matter. The mill terraces guide goes through yards, back streets and cylinders.
Grants paid
Relative to households, Burnley, Hyndburn, Blackburn with Darwen and Pendle have had the fewest grant-funded heat pumps of the 14 councils: 37 in Burnley, about one for every 1,078 households, 44 in Hyndburn, 97 in Blackburn with Darwen and 75 in Pendle. Rossendale, with 84, sits mid-table. Gas homes get the standard £7,500 band. All five councils are in Cosy Homes in Lancashire, whose 2026/27 funding is fully committed.
Renting
Private and social renting are common in the valley towns: 24.3% of Burnley households rented privately in 2021 and 18.8% of Blackburn with Darwen households rented socially. For tenants, the landlord decides. CHiL covers privately rented homes; under the national guidance a landlord contributes nothing towards the first property and 50 per cent on later ones.