Agenda item

The Climate Change Reserve Fund update was introduced by the Cabinet Member for Environment and Waste.

South Kesteven District Council had made significant progress in addressing carbon emissions from its own operations. Some of these achievements included:

-       Programme of £1m to upgrade all Council streetlights to energy efficient LEDs with dimming. 

-       Securing over £3.5m of funding via the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (phase 3c) to install a new low-carbon heating system at Grantham Meres leisure centre.

-       Installation of additional solar PV panels at Grantham Meres Leisure Centre as well as at the Council’s main offices at The Picture House.

-       Overall reduction in electricity consumption and associated carbon emissions across the Council’s portfolio of buildings.

-       Development of a new Green Fleet Strategy to agree a way forward to decarbonise the Council's vehicles.

A Climate Change Reserve of £300,000 was put in place from 2023/24 in order to both help respond to the budgetary pressures driven by the increasing cost of energy, and the Council’s stated ambition of carbon reduction across the Council’s property portfolio. The intention of the reserve was to fund standalone initiatives to reduce energy consumption and associated costs. The fund was increased to £500k for the 2024/25 financial year.

The following projects were being undertaken with the expectation of delivering an energy, carbon or cost saving/income stream to the authority, helping to respond to the increase in utility costs:

-       Upgrade circulation pumps for pools in Grantham Meres leisure centre.

-       Installation of electric vehicle charge points in SKDC car parks.

-       Installation of solar pay and display ticket machines in car parks.

-       Grantham Meres leisure centre – decarbonisation scheme agreed contract uplift.

Further projects were being reviewed to be funded from the climate change reserve, as included below. The estimated total of these projects was £234k, however updated costings were being developed for each project:

-       Upgrade of pool circulation pumps at Bourne leisure centre.

-       Additional solar PV at Bourne leisure centre and Stamford leisure pool.

-       Review of energy efficiency of Grantham bus station building.

-       Review of Building Management System (BMS) provision for key Council corporate properties.

A budget bid for £55k annually had also been submitted from 2026/27 to fund further electric vehicle charging points within Council owned car parks. This was proposed to be funded from the climate change reserve if supported as part of budget proposals. 

A separate climate reserve of £100k had also been established for housing

projects under the Housing Revenue Account (HRA).

During discussions, Members commented on the following:

-       A Member offered support for any scheme that would save money and improve the environment.

-       Clarification was sought about recent issues at the Meres Leisure Centre regarding pool temperatures. The Cabinet Member confirmed that the project to ensure that heat pumps were the primary heat source for the centre was due to complete by 1 April 2026.

-       It was noted there were plans for investing in sustainability upgrades at Stamford Leisure Centre.

The Update on the Climate Change Reserve Fund was noted by the committee.