A NEW programme manager has been appointed at the Stockton Warm Zone.

Chris Brown, 40, will be based at the Warm Zone office, which is above the energy advice centre, in Stockton, and will be responsible for managing all the surveyors who are working on the project and issuing contracts for installation work.

The Government-led initiative, which has seen gas supplier Transco team up with Stockton Borough Council, aims to reduce fuel poverty in the borough by 80 per cent during the next three years.

About 13,000 homes in Stockton have been identified as fuel poor and work has already started on carrying out detailed surveys, installing central heating systems, as well as fitting loft and wall insulation.

Mr Brown qualified as a gas engineer and he has spent the past nine years working for Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council. Most recently, he was in charge of repairs and maintenance, gas central heating installation and gas servicing.

He said: "I'm really looking forward to the challenges ahead.

"Stockton Warm Zone has very ambitious targets and I feel the experience I have gained over the past years will stand me in good stead in the coming months."