County council seeks approval on £2.7m green investment programme

Lancashire County Council has proposed a £2.7m package of measures designed to reduce carbon emissions within its own property portfolio and in commercial buildings across the county.

The plans include £1m to bring low carbon technologies to key development sites including Lancashire Central at Cuerden and the Samlesbury Enterprise Zone, as well as the installation of electric vehicle charging points at some of these locations.

The council also hopes to introduce a £1m for Lancashire Zero Carbon Retrofit Grant Scheme which would provide funding for mid-sized businesses towards the costs of retrofitting their buildings to be more carbon-neutral

A further £500,000 would support the delivery of EV charging points at the Samlesbury Enterprise Zone.

Additional items included within the programme include £75,000 for a chargeable solar streetlight programme, £75,000 for a zero-carbon retrofit programme in some of the county council's buildings and £50,000 for a study to understand and maximise zero carbon opportunities for the Lancashire Central strategic development site.

County councillor Shaun Turner, the new cabinet member for environment and climate change, said: "We're working to make Lancashire an even better place to live and work, and this includes looking to reduce our carbon emissions from our own buildings as well as new opportunities.

"Our target for Lancashire is rightly an ambitious one and I'm looking to use this brand new role to forge meaningful links with all our partners and stakeholders around the green agenda going forward.

"A transition to net zero will lead to a more sustainable economy and create opportunities for innovation and growth, but will also involve significant change, as well as balancing the costs and benefits across different parts of society."

The proposals, available to view here, will be put forward for approval on July.8

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