Borough council buildings are to become more environmentally friendly thanks to decarbonisation grants worth more than £3.8M.
Buildings around the borough are to be made more environmentally friendly through adapting to low or non-carbon generating technologies, such as solar PV panels and air and ground source heat pumps thanks to two grants from the Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and are from the Government’s £1 billion Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) fund.
The Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Commercial Services, Cllr Kunes said: "The council’s first bid for £2.84m was successful in January and this was followed by a further grant of just over £1m in February. The work should be completed before the end of this year. The reduction in carbon emissions from the overall project is estimated at a total of 494 tonnes per year.”
Seven buildings were included in the first-round application. The buildings/sites and the proposed technologies are:
- Lynnsport - Solar Photovoltaics (SP) & Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP)
- Downham Market Leisure Centre – Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP)
- St James’ Pool - ASHP
- King’s Court – ASHP, Timerclock controls
- Fairstead Community Centre – Loft insulation improvement, SP, ASHP
- Valentine Road offices, Hunstanton – Timerclock controls, SP, Loft insulation improvement, GSHP
- Council Depot (Factory 1), Hardwick – SP, cavity wall insulation improvement, GSHP
The second-round bid covered the following buildings and technologies:
- Oasis, Hunstanton - Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP)
- Guildhall, King’s Lynn – ASHP
- South Lynn Community Centre -ASHP, Solar PV
- Dutton Pavillion, King’s Lynn – Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP)
T&A asked the Borough Council: "Both of the Hunstanton sites, Valentine Road & The Oasis had been rumoured to have limited life expectancy. Are there any assurances of the ongoing likelihood of these sites not being either re-developed or sold off for a different usage within say 5 years or so?"
A spokesperson for the Borough Council has responded today saying: "There are no current plans to redevelop or sell-off either site within the time frame of the grant."