The ambition to decarbonise Congleton Town Hall took a large leap forward after Town Councillors agreed to sign a grant offer that would see almost 82% of the costs paid for via a central government grant. 

The Public Sector Decarbonisation grant offer, which has been almost two years in the making, will see central government pay £357,683 of the total £437,374 required.

The potential projects to be included in the scheme include: 

• Next-generation heating systems (non-fossil fuel) 
• Fabric Upgrades – window secondary glazing, roof and wall insulation 
• Solar power generation 
• LED lighting 

The decision to accept the offer was made at an Emergency Council meeting where councillors voted unanimously in favour of acceptance. The offer letter was received on the 19th March and needed to be accepted or rejected by 5 April.

The first phase of the project will ensure that both the technical and commercial feasibility are thoroughly scrutinised before progressing to phase 2, the procurement of equipment and implementation of structural changes. This will all done without commercial risk to the council or Congleton residents. 

Cllr Suzy Firkin, Chair of the Environment Committee, said: " As a town council we have been able to implement modest changes to reduce our carbon footprint, but this grant offers the injection of funds that we need to make significant change. This is a great opportunity for Congleton Town Council to be a leader amongst town and parish councils and will enable us to work alongside specialists to deliver our Climate Emergency commitments. It will also help us to future-proof the Town Hall as we know our 14-year-old gas boilers will need to be replaced in due course so it makes a great deal of sense to take this step forward supported by grant funding." 

The Town Council had previously created a Reserve of £53,000 to cover an expected 12% of the costs of the scheme. The final grant offer saw this amount rise to 18.22% of the costs requiring an additional £26,691.

Congleton Town Council has a year to raise these additional funds if the technical and commercial feasibility tests are favourable.