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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
David Humphreys

City region public buildings to benefit from funding to boost net zero aim

Dozens of public buildings across Liverpool City Region (LCR) are to benefit from new funding to further their journey towards net zero.

St George’s Hall, the Williamson Art Gallery and St Helens Town Hall are among 50 public buildings that will receive support from a £400,000 fund aimed at supporting the region’s goals to cut carbon emissions and reduce energy bills. The cash, from the government’s Low Carbon Skills Fund, will enable specialists to work out how best to work out how best to replace fossil fuel heating in each building with low carbon alternatives, such as heat pumps and solar panels.

Plans will consider the energy source and usage of each building, identify the best options to reduce how much energy each uses, and set out how to generate the remaining energy from low carbon sources. The buildings are owned by the LCR combined authority and Knowsley, Liverpool, St Helens and Wirral councils, while Halton and Sefton councils have both opted to submit their own bids, respectively.

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A wide variety of types of buildings will have heat decarbonisation plans drawn up under the scheme, including landmarks such as Liverpool, Wallasey, Birkenhead and St Helens Town Halls, as well as bus stations, leisure centres and libraries.

Steve Rotheram, Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor, said: “I want to make our region the cleanest, greenest, and healthiest place possible. While we’re incredibly fortunate to be home to some of the UK’s most stunning historic public buildings, the reality is that, as time goes on, many of them are becoming more and more expensive to maintain – and it’s not just our residents who are paying the price, but our planet too. But we need to lead by example.

“Across our region, we’re pumping tens of millions into projects that are helping to make our communities more energy efficient, like the £60m we’ve invested in our retrofitting programme, across the region, which has helped thousands of low-income households to cut their energy bills. As the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite, we’re helping to put money back into local people’s pockets.

“I want our region to go net zero by 2040 at the latest. That’s at least a decade ahead of national government targets. Getting there is by no means be an easy feat but if anywhere is capable of achieving it, then it’s the Liverpool City Region.”

The NW Net Zero Hub will support the delivery and management of the programme. Developing the heat decarbonisation plans will put the combined authority and the local authorities in position to bid for funds from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) to carry out the necessary work.

The PSDS provides capital to the public sector to reduce carbon from decarbonisation and energy efficiency measures. Phase 3 of the PSDS will provide £1.425 bn of grant funding over the financial years 2022/2023 to 2024/2025.

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