Council to spend £10m to decarbonise buildings

Finances have been approved for a £10m project to decarbonise buildings owned by Oxfordshire County Council.

Twenty buildings owned by the authority will have work done to put them on the "pathway to net zero".

At a council meeting on Friday it was agreed that the procurement process could start for the project.

The council estimates the programme will generate potential savings of 333 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Wantage Fire Station, Abingdon Fire Station, Berinsfield Library, Thornhill Park and Ride and Witney Resource Centre are among the buildings set to see decarbonisation works.

The project will include the electrification of heating systems, building fabric improvements, efficiency upgrades and the installation of electricity-generating technology.

The council has secured £360,000 of government funding for the project, which it has match funded with £10m.

A report on the programme said some of the work would need doing, even without decarbonisation.

It said: "In 2023/24 the council's property accounted for approximately 35% of the emissions that need to be reduced to meet the carbon neutrality target by 2030.

"In addition, a reactive only maintenance approach has left much of the council's estate in very poor-quality condition, with many components past their expected working life and in need of replacement irrespective of the carbon neutrality target."

The grant funding for the project needs to be spent by March 31, 2026.

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