POOR and disabled people in Hampshire could get a share of £8.4m Government cash to help make it easier for them to live in their own homes.

Grants and interest-free loans will be available to make vital improvements in heating and household repairs.

The aim is make cold, unsafe and inaccessible homes a thing of the past for some of the county’s most vulnerable residents.

Private landlords could also be eligible for help to bring empty properties back into use by bringing them up to standard.

It is hoped the cash boost will improve the standard of living for about 1,000 people over the three years of the project, as well as saving lives. In Southampton alone, 130 people died in 2006/7 because they were unable to properly heat their own homes.

Residents in the city, along with those in Winchester, Fareham, Test Valley and the New Forest, are among those able to apply for help through the scheme, which is being run by the Partnership for Urban South Hampshire.

Councillors, local government officers and stakeholders discovered more about the PUSH 4 Safer Homes project when it launched at Southampton’s St Mary’s Stadium.

Edward Heron, New Forest councillor and chairman of PUSH’s housing and planning delivery panel, said: “It is quite shocking that even today there are still households with inadequate heating, where householders are suffering fuel poverty.

“This project aims to dramatically reduce the numbers of fuel poverty stricken households in the south Hampshire area.

“We have just experienced one of the coldest snaps in the south for many years.

“PUSH 4 Safer Homes will aim to ensure that people live in warm homes where the cold weather conditions don’t put lives at risk.”

Residents can apply for Home Improvement Loans for essential repairs or work to make their house more environmentally friendly.

The money is secured on the property, and only repaid – without interest – when the home is sold.

People receiving benefits can also apply for a Warm Home Grant to improve insulation or heating.

The awards will automatically top up the Govern-ment’s Warm Front grant, ensuring older and disabled people, and families with children get to live in fully-heated homes.

For more information about PUSH 4 Safer Homes, call 0800 519 1717.