a day ago
Stroud councillors hit out as £3.5bn green energy fund is axed
STROUD'S Green group members say they are frustrated at the axing of a government energy efficiency fund.
The £3.5 billion Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, which supported upgrades to public buildings across the UK, was cut during the government's recent spending review.
The fund paid for air source heat pumps and solar panels at three sites in the Stroud district.
Cllr Chloe Turner, leader of Stroud District Council's Green group, said: "I'm grateful that Stroud District Council officers were able to secure such a huge grant while the money was available, which has enabled us to modernise our heating systems and reduce our environmental impact in our most energy-intensive buildings."
The upgrades helped the council meet national targets to decarbonise public buildings by 2035.
Stroud District Council secured £4.69 million from the scheme and contributed just £700,000 toward the work.
Cllr Turner said: "This fund was a vital source of local government funding for climate action across the country, and culling it with no suggestion of replacement is an extremely frustrating decision."
Stroud MP Simon Opher has been approached for comment.
A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, said: 'Our settlement is about investing in Britain's renewal to create energy security, sprint to clean power by 2030, encourage investment, create jobs and bring down bills for good. 'We will deliver £1 billion in current allocations of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme until 2028 and, through Great British Energy, have invested in new rooftop solar power and renewable schemes to lower energy bills for schools and hospitals across the UK. 'We want to build on this progress by incentivising the public sector to decarbonise, so they can reap the benefits in lower bills and emissions, sharing best practice across government and exploring the use of repayable finance, where appropriate.'
