Free advice on running costs for North Yorkshire community buildings

Community and volunteer groups that run venues including village halls, sports and leisure facilities, theatres and museums in North Yorkshire are being offered access to expert advice on how to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions and save on running costs.

Up to 50 buildings will be included in a free study, which will show members of community and voluntary groups how to reduce the carbon footprint of their buildings, enabling them to become more energy-efficient and to save money.

The project will be funded by £75,000 from the government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and is open to venues managed by the community and voluntary sector. Elderly people’s residential care homes are also included.

The study will create a decarbonisation plan for each building, highlighting opportunities to decarbonise properties through energy efficiency measures, such as double glazing and insulation and improved heating options, as well as considering renewable energy such as solar power and battery storage.

Property design company Align Property Partners, which is wholly owned by North Yorkshire County Council, will conduct the surveys between January and March next year.

North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for climate change, Cllr Greg White, said:

“Many community-managed buildings tend to be older and can be poorly insulated. They are often ‘off gas’ and rely on either expensive and high-carbon electric or oil and gas for heating.

“This study will show organisations where there are opportunities to reduce greenhouse gases and to save money.”

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Venue managers will be asked to provide information on heating costs and patterns of usage, and there will be a site visit to each building.

They will then receive free information on how to make decisions on any alterations needed and how these might be funded. There is no commitment to implement the findings.

For your venue to be considered for inclusion in the study, register your interest by January 10 by contacting Fiona Protheroe at FProtheroe@cravendc.gov.uk or on 01756 706230.

£500k in carbon reduction cash to be spent on Hydro instead of Convention Centre

More than half a million pounds in carbon reduction cash is to be spent on Harrogate Hydro instead of Harrogate Convention Centre.

The £583,000 was awarded to Harrogate Borough Council for upgraded lighting and air handling units at the convention centre, but the council has now said it won’t be able to complete the works before a funding deadline in June.

The money from the government’s decarbonisation scheme will instead be used for air source heat pumps and solar panels at the Hydro swimming pool.

A council spokesperson said:

“The money has been transferred as owing to market conditions, we cannot deliver the convention centre project within the grant timescales.”

The funding switch comes as the council is pushing ahead with plans for a major redevelopment of the convention centre, with upgrades at the venue’s studio two being made a priority.

These studio two works could start in October after a warning that the venue could miss out on up to £14.9million through cancelled events.

Overall, the full redevelopment plans could cost up to £47million if approved by councillors. The proposals include three exhibition halls being demolished to make way for a new 5,000 square metre hall and a refurbished auditorium.

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Under separate plans, 1,077 solar panels will be installed at the convention centre in a move which the council said will save 24 tonnes of Co2 each year.

A further 420 solar panels will also be installed at the Hydro swimming pool. The council said these could reduce the venue’s annual Co2 emissions by 577 tonnes.

The Hydro is also in line for a major redevelopment which will cost £11.8million and get underway next month. These plans include a two-storey extension of the building, as well as a new entrance, cafe and reception area.

There will also be a new diving board structure, fitness suite and refurbished changing areas which could all be completed by April 2023.

District’s residents asked for views on emissions targets

North Yorkshire residents are being urged to have their say on targets to cut carbon emissions from road and rail vehicles in the wider region to almost zero by 2045.

The North of England Decarbonisation Strategy aims to slash greenhouse gas emissions by tackling surface transport, which covers people and goods moved by cars, vans, lorries, buses and trains.

‘Net zero’ means a state in which greenhouse gas emissions are at the lowest possible rates combined with policies to mitigate the remaining emissions, such as planting trees.

Transport for the North (TfN), a sub-national transport body, estimated that in 2018 the region saw 26 million tonnes of CO2 emissions from surface transport, which represented almost a quarter of the UK’s total road emissions.

Its consultation document includes four future travel scenarios to suggest how emissions may change depending on how much action is taken.

Proposed measures include phasing out petrol, diesel and hybrid car and vans by 2030, and boosting sales of zero-emission vehicles by 2025.

TfN also wants to encourage higher use of public transport and reduce private car travel, to decarbonise the rail network and suggests authorities could consider introducing clean air zones or congestion changes.

Other suggestions include cycle and e-scooter hire schemes, low-traffic neighbourhoods, and prioritising planning developments close to existing transport hubs to create ’15/20-minute neighbourhoods’

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Harrogate-based councillor Don Mackenzie, the executive member for access at North Yorkshire County Council, said:

“The county council fully supports TfN’s proposed Decarbonisation Strategy. Our county is the largest in the country and residents often have to travel long distances just to reach destinations within North Yorkshire.

“That is why we support improvements in public transport whenever we can to offer alternatives to the private car. We also continue to expand opportunities for safe sustainable travel, and to invest in the county’s digital infrastructure to improve broadband and mobile phone reception.”

The Climate Change Act (2019) commits the UK government to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 100% of 1990 levels by 2050.

This law is linked to 2015’s ‘Paris Agreement’, which aims to limit the global average temperature increase to  no more than 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and try to limit the rise to 1.5°C.

To find out more and respond to the consultation visit transportforthenorth.com/decarbonisation. The consultation opens today and closes at noon on August 31 2021.

Tim Wood, interim chief executive at TfN, said:

“We urge everyone in North Yorkshire to get involved in this vital work and provide their views to the consultation, helping to shape future transport networks that are not only efficient and reliable, but are sustainable too.”