A £27m Government grant is helping to turn Newcastle's schools, libraries, and swimming pools into 'greener' spaces in a bid to tackle climate change.
Work is underway to improve the energy efficiency of buildings across the city, including the Theatre Royal, the Discovery Museum, and the Civic Centre, after Newcastle City Council was awarded £27m from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.
The city council has partnered with sustainability experts EQUANS to carry out the improvement work, which includes upgrading building insulation, along with measures such as heat pumps, solar panels and new windows.
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The Theatre Royal has already benefited from the measures, with heat pumps and solar panels also installed at YHN House, the Palatine Products building, Fenham Library, Gosforth Pool, Walker Activity Dome, the Pattern Shop, and Newcastle Trampoline Park. It comes as the city council works towards its target of becoming net zero by 2030.
Cllr Jane Byrne, Newcastle City Council’s Connected City Cabinet member, said: “Buildings are one of the biggest sources of carbon emissions so taking action to retrofit these sites is an important step towards creating a more sustainable future for our residents.
"When all the work is complete, these projects will remove over 4,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year – the equivalent of taking over 2,800 cars off the road – while saving hundreds of thousands of pounds in running costs for the buildings per year. It is fantastic to see the scheme is progressing well as these improvements will really help towards achieving our ongoing target to become net zero by 2030.”
Solar panels have also been installed at nine schools, while four city centre car parks have had LED lighting upgrades.
Work is currently being carried out at Blandford House, home to the Discovery Museum, Newcastle City Library, the Civic Centre and East End Pool, while a further six schools will also benefit from upgrades. All the projects are expected to be completed this year.
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