£17m eco funding for Shrewsbury hospital and Wellington civic centre to help save energy
Two Shropshire authorities have been awarded more than £17 million to fund energy saving improvements for their public buildings by the Government.
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The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital has won £16.2m for an eco-friendly heating and energy scheme, while a heating and insulation scheme at Wellington Civic Centre has attracted a further £1m in funding from the UK Government’s Public Sector De-carbonisation fund.
The £16,200,291 secured by Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust was the largest pot of funding awarded in the West Midlands region, and the sixth largest nationally.
The de-carbonisation programme at the Shrewsbury site proposes replacing the existing steam heating systems with more efficient air source heat pumps, while solar panels will be fitted to the roof to generate clean electricity at the site.
Other improvements planned as part of the scheme to improve energy efficiency at the Shrewsbury site include pipework improvements, roof insulation, LED lighting and new building energy management systems.
The funding was secured via the UK Government’s Public Sector De-carbonisation fund, which last month awarded £530m of funding to schemes designed to support low carbon and energy saving schemes for public buildings.
Meanwhile plans to install eco-friendly heating systems at Wellington Civic and Leisure Centre have also received a £1 million boost from the UK Government.
Gas boilers will be replaced with air source heat pumps, and cavity wall and roof insulation fitted to help improve energy efficiency of the building, after Telford & Wrekin Council was awarded £1,083,983 in grant funding.
Telford & Wrekin Council declared a climate emergency in 2019, and has a target of becoming fully carbon neutral by 2030.
A Government spokesperson said the schemes would help “reduce emissions and cut bills”, as part of the Government’s plan to reach net zero targets in what it described as a “sustainable, pragmatic way”.
“By allocating over £557 million today, we are standing steadfast behind our public sector and local businesses, providing the help they need to make the switch to cleaner, home-grown energy,” said Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance Lord Callanan.
“This will not only help cut bills in the long term, but ensure we keep reducing our emissions – having already led the world by halving them since 1990.”
Government figures estimate that the funded projects will help to save taxpayers £650 million a year to 2037, as well as accelerate progress to net zero.
More than 1,000 projects have received funding to upgrade buildings through the Public Sector De-carbonisation Scheme since 2020.
