Over 150 public buildings in Greater Manchester to benefit from decarbonisation fund

Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has announced that over 150 public buildings across the city-region will benefit from a recently announced government decarbonisation fund.

The UK government previously announced that Greater Manchester would receive £78 million of a £1 billion blueprint as part of ambitions to reduce carbon emissions across the UK. Funds were awarded to the city-region through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme following a successful bid by the GMCA and partner organisations.

Buildings and organisations across the public estate set to benefit from retrofitting measures including Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, Transport for Greater Manchester, Greater Manchester Police, the Royal Northern College of Music, the National Cycling Centre, and facilities including leisure centres, schools, and offices.

The measures will include the installation of air source heat pumps for heating, solar panels to generate and create electricity, insulation and LED lighting to improve energy efficiency, and energy monitoring and control systems to ensure these public facilities can accurately measure their energy usage.

In total, the works are expected to support the creation or safeguarding of around 2,000 jobs throughout the city-region, and will support the goals of Greater Manchester’s Five Year Environment Plan, including becoming carbon neutral by 2038.

Cllr Andrew Western, GMCA Lead for the Green City-Region, said: 

Tackling the climate emergency requires bold and meaningful change at every level, and from all of us. Greater Manchester’s Five Year Environment Plan set a target of becoming a carbon neutral city-region by 2038, and to meet our goals it is essential that the public sector leads the way and demonstrates what can be achieved. This grant funding will help to reduce carbon emissions from more than 150 public buildings in the city-region.

“Investment in decarbonisation schemes like retrofitting and low-carbon energy is going to be crucial in powering a green recovery from the pandemic. We estimate that this funding, the largest award in England, will support the creation or safeguarding of more than 2,000 jobs here in Greater Manchester, fostering the skills that we need to keep cutting emissions and create a more sustainable future.”

The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme was launched in October 2020 to fund grants for local authorities of up to 100% of the cost of upgrading public buildings by the end of September 2021.