Newark and Sherwood District Council s continuing its work to reach carbon net zero by 2035

A council is continuing its work to reach carbon net zero by 2035, as plans to decarbonise buildings it owns move ahead following cabinet funding approval.

Newark and Sherwood District Council says it is committed to creating a greener future for the district, with over £1m committed to be spent on greening initiatives by the end of the financial year.

Work on decarbonisation began following the 2019 Climate Emergency Strategy and Action Plan. Within this the council’s targets of achieving carbon net zero by 2035 and reducing emissions were outlined.

Carbon net zero means that any carbon emissions created are balanced out by taking the same amount out of the atmosphere. Net zero will be reached once the amount of carbon emissions added is no more than the amount removed.

The following sites have been approved for the decarbonisation plan:

• Newark Sports and Fitness Centre
• Dukeries Leisure Centre
• Blidworth Leisure Centre
• Newark Beacon
• Castle House Offices
• Brunel Drive Depot
• National Civil War Centre
• Palace Theatre
• Vicar Water Visitor Centre
• Sconce and Devon Visitor Centre
• Sherwood Arts and Crafts Centre
• Farrar Close – store and offices
• 19 car parks throughout the district

Five of these buildings will soon be fitted with solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, in addition to those already on the council’s main office, Castle House.

Those additional sites are the Newark Sports and Fitness Centre, the Dukeries Leisure Centre, the Beacon Business Innovation Centre and the Green Flag parks of Sconce and Devon and Vicar Water.

PV would not be suitable at the other identified sites and therefore plans are in place to seek expert consultation in creating the decarbonisation plan including those sites.

Keith Melton, portfolio holder for climate change, said: “These plans to decarbonise council buildings are part of a number of initiatives we are implementing to reduce carbon emissions by 2,165 tCO2e, the equivalent of an average family diesel car driving 12.99 million miles.

“We have already exceeded our initial target to plant 10,000 trees by 2023 having hit a record 18,000 planted trees and we are looking to extend our tree planting programme. We are deploying electric vehicles and carbon neutral forms of transport in our fleet, but there is always room to do more.

“Investment such as this is vital in allowing us to continue making strides in carbon reduction at a district level and we will continue to work hard to achieve a greener future for Newark and Sherwood and future generations of residents.”

The district council has already begun work to decarbonise social housing and confirmed its commitment to the Local Area Energy Plan (LAEP). A government grant of up to £1.3m and the council’s match fund to deliver a £2.6m social housing decarbonisation programme over two years was agreed earlier this year, as were proposals in the LAEP to replace carbon intensive fossil fuel systems in both private and district council-owned homes with carbon neutral alternatives.