Anyone who regularly walks up Albert Road will have noticed three giant flying ducks slowly appearing on the side of one house as local artist, Mark Davies, manages to brave the scaffolding between bouts of wind and rain. The mural is the culmination of a pioneering external wall insulation project undertaken by local resident, Izzy Price. As Izzy explains, “The endowment policy I’d been paying for 25 years matured recently so I thought, with fuel bills rising relentlessly, I would use the money to lower my future expenses. Although making the house cheaper to heat, and warmer, was my main concern, I realised there would be a large, bare, cream wall and I wanted to have something put on it that everybody could enjoy.”
At work on the mural
Throughout the project, Izzy has taken advice from South Yorkshire Energy Centre (SYEC), conveniently sited for Heeley-ites in the old pikelet factory by Heeley City Farm. Although grants are available for cavity wall insulation, many older houses do not have cavities between their internal and external walls. This was the case in Izzy’s property. External wall cladding as a solution is still relatively new, but SYEC are able to offer advice to suit a range of budgets. They have information on internal wall insulation for solid walls too, as well as renewable energy, green building, and how to tackle high bills and draughty homes.
Izzy respectfully asks that those interested in either the insulation project, or the mural, direct enquiries to:
- SYEC, 25 Alexandra Road, Sheffield S2 3EE. Email: info@syec.co.uk or Tel: 0114 258 4574. SYEC is open to the public from 11.00am–3.00pm on Weds, Thurs, Fri & Sat. Wednesday opening may be extended to 6.00pm in the autumn, but call to check.
- Mark Davies, local artist, Tel: 07854 206732
IT'S HAPPENING IN HEELEY! 
jodie myles
October 6, 2011
Well done mark, for making the walk down our Street more more fun, my hero!