The Council’s Property Services team has secured a further two grants to support its work to reduce carbon emissions in the district.

Earlier this month the Council announced it had secured more than £310,000 of Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme grant to fund the installation of energy efficiency and cost-saving measures at its three leisure centres.

Now it has been confirmed the Council will receive an additional £38,000 in the form of two grants from Salix, which is administering the government funding.

The two latest grants are specifically to assist the development of a Heat Decarbonisation Plan to 2030 (£18,000 funding) and £20,000 for skilled project support on the delivery of our Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme that will be rolled out to the leisure centres. All three funding schemes will help the Council realise its ambition to become carbon neutral by 2030.

The Heat Decarbonisation Plan is a forward plan of how the Council will be going to achieve the 2030 carbon neutral target and the granted funds will go towards employing the expert skills to help put together a robust plan that will identify the route MDDC needs to take.

Cabinet Member for the Environment and Climate Change, Cllr Colin Slade, said: “This is very welcome news as Mid Devon works to make tangible strides towards becoming net zero by 2030. As a Council we are keen to explore all avenues available to us to reduce our own carbon emissions, but we know we also need to support our local businesses and residents to do the same. This really is about working together to benefit the district and the wider environment.”

This collaborative and community work is set to receive an extra boost with the appointment of the Council’s first Climate and Sustainability Specialist earlier this month. The role will ensure the Council maximises opportunities across the whole district to impact climate change.

Cllr Slade added: “I am thrilled to welcome Jason Ball to this new role and relish the ecological and environmental experience he brings to the Council. I am looking forward to working with him on future based climate projects and eager to share the ideas he brings to the authority.”

In 2019 the Council joined other local authorities in the county and became part of the Devon Climate Emergency Response Group, following Devon County Council’s declaration of a climate emergency. Members then agreed to the Devon-wide target of becoming carbon neutral by 2050, but will aim for Mid Devon District Council to achieve net zero by the more ambitious date of 2030. 

In October 2020 the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) launched the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (referred to as the Grant Scheme) which will be delivered by Salix. The Grant Scheme offered the public sector £1bn of grant funding was available for capital energy efficiency and heat decarbonisation projects within public sector non-domestic buildings.

Find out more about Mid Devon’s Climate reduction and read about the work the Council has already completed as it works towards its ambitious carbon reduction plan.