Mayor announces £600,000 investment to tackle climate change

Mayor Dave Hodgson has announced green investment at Brookside Care Home in Kempston and Eileen Wade Primary School, following a successful bid by the Council for £624,918 from the Government's Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.

With the Council investing an additional top up, this major investment at Brookside Care Home in Kempston will see measures including new windows, a new insulated modern roof and a new energy and heating system, which will reduce energy use. In addition, solar panels will be installed on the roof enabling the care home to create green energy on site.

This will both reduce the carbon footprint of the care home, save money on energy bills, and make the home more comfortable for those who live there.

The council has secured funding from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) as part of its Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS), delivered by Salix.

The scheme aims to put the public sector at the forefront of decarbonising buildings in the UK.

Works are expected to start at Brookside Care Home in summer and will be done at the same time as a broader refurbishment of the home. The Council is working with management, carers, residents and families to ensure this vital work is done with the minimum of disruption.

Eileen Wade Primary School will also see improvement works undertaken, with £124,918 being invested from the Decarbonisation Scheme. This will see the old heating system replaced with a new zero carbon heat source, reducing the amount of energy needed to heat the school. These works will be carried out during the summer holidays.

These two Council properties were chosen when bidding for money from the PSDS scheme following energy cost calculations, the age of the properties and survey data to ensure we are delivering value for money.

Mayor Dave Hodgson said "Through this successful bid, we will be able to make major improvements at a local care home and a local school helping them to be more efficient, reduce their energy bills and reduce their carbon footprint. We all know the devastating impact on climate change is having on our environment and the Council is proudly committed to be carbon neutral by 2030 and are aiming to lead by example, working to reduce our energy consumption and find ways to create green energy."

Gerald Habib, client support officer, from Salix Finance said: "We are delighted to be working with Bedford Borough Council on this exciting scheme. It's very encouraging to see what a positive impact this will make on buildings which are so well used. It will be transformational for the buildings and make a real difference to the users, we cannot wait to see the Council achieve its net zero ambitions."