Stonehouse-based Cotswold Energy Group has been awarded a £5 million contract to install renewable heating systems and solar panels at three of Stroud District Council's biggest public buildings.
The local firm successfully bid for the contract to replace the ageing gas boilers at Stratford Park Leisure Centre, Museum in the Park and The Pulse Leisure Centre in Dursley with air source heat pumps, with work expected to begin imminently and finish in February 2024.
The new technology will allow heat from the swimming pools and changing rooms at Stratford Park Leisure Centre and The Pulse to be recycled and used as heating, while solar panels will also be installed on all three buildings to help cut down running costs.
The work is being funded by a £4.7 million grant from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, initiated by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and delivered by Salix Finance, with Stroud District Council providing £700,000 of its own funds
Switching to renewable energy will save around 704 tonnes of carbon emissions every year, going a long way to achieving the council's objective of making the Stroud District carbon neutral by 2030.
Chair of Stroud District Council Community Services and Licensing Committee, Councillor Beki Aldam, said: 'I am delighted to welcome Cotswold Energy Group to this ambitious project. This scheme achieves a number of objectives in our Council Plan and 2030 Strategy: to be a carbon neutral and ecologically sound district by 2030, and invest in our leisure provision to make it fit for the future.'
Vice chair of Stroud District Council, Councillor Trevor Hall, added: 'Our Council Plan prioritises support for the local economy, so I am pleased that the winning bid was by a local company that employs local people and prioritises using local independent businesses in its supply chain.'
The project is the second green energy contract Cotswold Energy Group has won from Stroud District Council, having already installed water source heat pumps at the council's Ebley Mill headquarters and Brimscombe Port Mill.
Managing director of Cotswold Energy Group, Jon Bonnar, said: 'Cotswold Energy
Group has a strong heritage of decarbonising the Stroud district and we’re
delighted to be awarded this landmark project.
'It means more green jobs created in Stroud whilst providing a much-needed transition away from fossil fuels to modern, renewable infrastructure in these important buildings.'
The majority of the work is expected to have no impact on the day-to-day operation of all three buildings, with unavoidable closures being kept to a minimum and scheduled for quieter times. Closures will be announced on Stroud District Council's social media channels and each building's own website.
