£1.9m funding boost set to improve carbon footprint at three landmark Lancaster properties

Williamson Park, The Storey and CityLab will benefit from heat decarbonisation and improved energy efficiency works after Lancaster City Council successfully bid for £1.9million in external funding.

The work is expected to save more than 250 tonnes of CO2e, equivalent to planting 340 trees or removing gas from 110 homes, every year and is possible following the city council’s successful application to the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme phase 3c.

The fund, run by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, is delivered by Salix Finance, which supports decarbonisation and energy efficiency across Great Britain. The objective is to bring public sector facilities up to date and contribute towards decarbonisation.

The funding will be used to decommission old gas boilers and replace them with more efficient air source heat pumps. Management systems to monitor, control and optimise energy consumption will also be installed at all three buildings. In addition, The Storey will benefit from secondary glazing and upgraded insulation.

The buildings, measures and timeline follow recommendations set out in the council's Building Energy Decarbonisation Plan and complement secondary glazing, LED lighting and solar panels that were installed at CityLab in 2022. The work is expected to take up to two years to complete.

Since declaring a climate emergency in 2019 the council has delivered a raft of projects including the electrification of its vehicle fleet, electric car club schemes and the decarbonisation of Salt Ayre Leisure Centre.