Southampton City Council has successfully secured £1.68m from the government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS).
The PSDS scheme was launched in autumn 2020 and offers funding for capital energy efficiency and heat decarbonisation projects for non-domestic buildings on a first-come, first-served basis.
Having successfully secured the funding, Southampton City Council has said they will use it to help further the council’s commitment to ensuring that all council-owned and occupied buildings will be carbon neutral by 2030.
This funding will be put directly towards over 20 energy efficiency and carbon saving projects, including investment in solar panels and lighting and heating measures across 9 corporate sites. Some of the sites considered are the Sea City Museum, The Quays Swimming & Diving Complex and Lordshill Library.
The council has said that projects funded by this scheme will be completed by September 2021.
Cllr Steve Leggett, Cabinet Member for Green City and Place, said: ‘At a time when so many are thinking about the environment, the economy and the future of our planet, securing this fund is a great step towards achieving our 2030 carbon-neutral goal and creating a clean, greener, healthier and more sustainable city for current and future generations.
‘Not only will this fund allow us to start the necessary decarbonisation work across a number of public buildings, such as The Sea City Museum and Lordshill Library, but it will also allow the council to further fund existing Green City projects, including city depot and the Marlands multi-storey car park.’
In related news, Southampton City Council has joined forces with local charity, the Environment Centre, to launch a new network to tackle air pollution.
The clean air network aims to encourage local residents to look at the changes they could make to reduce pollution levels in the city on the south coast.
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