The South West Net Zero Hub is pleased to announce the first councils to be awarded funding through the £1m Local Net Zero Fund (LNZF), with more to be announced in the coming weeks.
The LNZF scheme was created by the Hub and funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to support local authorities in the South West to deliver projects that will reduce carbon emissions locally. Funding can be used to investigate opportunities, unlock barriers and get stalled projects moving. Councils who have been awarded funding from one of three separate grant pots under the scheme so far are:
Local Capacity Grant – £240,379
- North Somerset Council
- Wiltshire Council
- Torbay Council
- Bath and North East Somerset Council
- Gloucestershire consortium: Cotswold District Council, Cheltenham Borough Council, and Forest of Dean District Council
- Plymouth City Council
Project Development Grant – £356,883
- Devon County Council
- Dorset County Council
- Exeter City Council
- Somerset Council
Strategic Development Grant – £293,551
- Devon County Council in partnership with Teignbridge District Council and Centre for Energy and the Environment, University of Exeter
- Torridge District Council in partnership with North Devon Council
The revenue grants can be used to support the development of a wide range of net zero projects including: solar PV installations, green hydrogen, decarbonisation of heat and new approaches to drive uptake of retrofit. Councils that have been awarded grants include Wiltshire Council and Devon County Council.
Wiltshire Council received a Local Capacity Grant of £25,000 to complete data analysis on the data collected from telematics devices installed in their electric vehicle fleet to inform the Council’s EV and chargepoint purchasing plans. Cllr Tamara Reay, Cabinet Member for Transport at Wiltshire Council said, “This is an exciting time for Wiltshire Council and its commitment to deliver a carbon neutral fleet by 2030. The funding will be instrumental with ensuring Wiltshire Council’s fleet moves to sustainable travel whilst meeting our business needs.”
Devon County Council received a Strategic Development Grant of £99,851 to create a decarbonisation plan and identify viable investment opportunities for Heathfield Industrial Estate, with the intention of forming a replicable business model for industrial estates of this size. Mark Burton, Net Zero Innovation and Delivery Officer at Devon County Council said, “This collective approach to business decarbonisation at the industrial estate scale can accelerate the transition to net zero in a way that is good for business. The funding from the Hub gives us the means to show how that can be done at Heathfield, for which we are very grateful”
Steve Ransom, South West Net Zero Programme Manager said: “I would like to congratulate all the successful applicants to the Local Net Zero Fund. We are delighted with the response we’ve had from councils to this new fund which will support delivery of energy projects and strategic climate initiatives in the region. We also look forward to providing some of the successful projects with expert advice on finance through our Investment Readiness Support Service.”
Recipients of the Project Development Grant will also go through the Hub’s Net Zero Investment Readiness Assessment Service. The service provides a roadmap for councils seeking external financing options and is open to all local and combined authorities in the South West region regardless of whether a grant has been awarded. You can register interest in this service through the contact form on our website.
The full list of projects to be awarded funding will be published on our website once all the details are finalised. To find out more about the LNZ Fund and the projects that have received funding so far visit the Local Net Zero Fund web page
