Shropshire Council secures £443,000 of grant funding for energy efficiency improvements at buildings

Shropshire Council has secured £443,000 of grant funding to enable energy efficiency improvements at four council buildings across the county.

The funding will now enable £700,000 of improvements to be carried out at Cantern Brook in Bridgnorth, Chelmaren children’s home in north Shropshire, Oswestry Library, and Mount McKinley at Shrewsbury Business Park.

At Cantern Brook, grant funding will enable the installation of low carbon lighting and heating improvements, and will also include the installation of solar panels. The work is expected to cost around £180,000.

Banner at Cantern Brook, Bridgnorth.

The improvements will generate an approximate 40% reduction in energy use, and will save the council 24 tonnes of carbon per year, which would fill 5.3 Olympic swimming pools or 118 double-decker buses. It is also the equivalent of 26 return flights from Birmingham to Athens.

A financial saving of £2,500 per year will also be achieved.

To achieve its target of achieving net zero carbon by 2030, the council is working hard to improve the carbon performance of its buildings across Shropshire, including Cantern Brook.

Dean Carroll, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for adult social care, public health and climate change, said:-

“To reduce its carbon footprint the council needs to invest in its buildings to ensure that they remain fit for purpose and are as energy efficient as possible.

“The council is committed to achieving net zero carbon by 2030, and projects like this are critical in achieving this ambition.

“Up to this point, a huge amount of work has gone in behind the scenes to put the council in the best position possible to deliver projects and deliver on its promise. I’m thrilled that we are now able to start demonstrating this with tangible projects that deliver very real and positive outcomes.

“The project at Cantern Brook reaffirms the council’s commitment to the site as a base for council services in the Bridgnorth area.”

These projects are part-funded by a Government grant from Salix. They are part of a range of schemes and initiatives Shropshire Council is already developing to increase energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions and generate more renewable energy, both for its own operations and to support communities and businesses across the county. 

In December 2020, Shropshire Council adopted its first corporate Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan, providing a road map to achieving its ambition to achieve net zero carbon and be energy self-sufficient by 2030.

For more information about the strategy, visit https://www.shropshire.gov.uk/climate-change-and-sustainability/climate-change-strategy/.