Newark and Sherwood District Council cabinet to consider plans for solar panels on social housing in Newark and Ollerton
A council has continued to make strides towards a greener and more sustainable future, with plans to bring renewable energy to social housing.
If the plans are approved by Newark and Sherwood District Council’s cabinet meeting, on Tuesday, February 20, an additional £217,000 of funding will be allocated towards installing solar photovoltaic panels at Housing with Care Scheme properties Gladstone House, in Newark, and The Broadleaves, in Ollerton.
The recommendations follow energy reviews that identified several areas where energy savings could be made including the installation of solar panels and securing an improved energy supply tariff.
There has been an increase in energy costs across the UK and the recommended plans are set to benefit both the environment and tenants, as the introduction of renewable energy will lower the costs of heating the communal areas, which is hoped to help reduce their service charges.
Tenants from both sites have given encouraging feedback to the plans in terms of both the environmental impact of the solar panels and on the potential reduction of costs.
Lee Brazier, portfolio holder for housing at Newark and Sherwood District Council, said: “Carbon reduction projects such this are an important step towards creating more sustainable, carbon conscious and environmentally friendly homes for our residents to live in, and not only that, but these installations could also offer real benefits to our tenants by reducing their service changes, and I’m pleased to see that tenants have given their support to the plans.”
The installation is expected to generate more than 225,000 kWh of electricity on an annual basis, in turn saving over 45 tCO2e of carbon emissions annually.
The plans align with the council’s commitment to achieving carbon net zero, after declaring the Climate Emergency in 2019.
Several council initiatives are aiming to reduce and offset its carbon emissions, including over £1million committed to be spent on greening initiatives by the end of the financial year, decarbonisation plans for council owned buildings, installation of solar panels at five sites around the district, and plans to deliver a £2.6m social housing decarbonisation programme to target tenants with oil or LPG heating systems and replace them with carbon neutral alternatives.
Keith Melton, portfolio holder for climate change at Newark and Sherwood District Council added: “Investing in renewable energy is vital for the sustainable future we are working towards in Newark and Sherwood, and I hope to see these plans approved and moving forward.
“We know that protecting our environment is a priority of our residents, and projects like this are a wonderful example of the long-term investments we are pushing to help us build the greener district we all want to see.”