Newcastle council receives £27.25m for eco-upgrades across the city

A North East council has announced that it has been successful in its bid for £27.25m for eco-friendly upgrades.

Newcastle City Council has been granted the funding from the government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) to install low carbon heating and other energy efficiency measures across 32 sites.

The work, which the council says could support hundreds of jobs, save hundreds of thousands of pounds in running costs and be the equivalent of taking thousands of cars off the roads, will see eco-upgrades applied to schools, libraries, leisure centres and cultural venues.

Council leader Nick Forbes commented: “This is a huge boost to help support our work towards achieving a net zero city.

“The upgrades this £27.25m will allow us to make will be a significant step to ensuring some of our schools, leisure centres, cultural venues, depots, offices and industrial premises have a more sustainable future.

“From solar panels to “smart” building management systems; heat pumps; new LED lights; energy storage; electrical upgrades and low carbon heating systems; more efficient windows; better wall, roof and pipework insulation; and connecting the buildings to the heating network powered by the District Energy Centre at Helix, this is a really exciting opportunity to improve major public buildings.

“Removing up to 4,050 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year – equivalent to taking 2,828 cars off the road - will really help towards our ongoing target of being net zero by 2030.

“And it could help support and safeguard more than 800 jobs; potentially saving £386k a year on running costs, which would obviously be welcome at a time when our budget faces continued challenges.”