A grant of more than £2m has been secured by Oldham Council to ensure the Spindles shopping centre is more environmentally friendly - alongside the improvements already underway.
The scheme will aim to install heat sources, solar panels and insulation to reduce emissions, generate renewable energy and, as a result, reduce costs and the building’s carbon footprint.
A grant of £2,153,354 from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme has been awarded to Oldham Council for the works and Cabinet agreed to accept the funding at its meeting on Monday 23 January.
Work will be completed by the team already carrying out the wider renovation as part of the Creating a Better Place programme – we’re repurposing Spindles to create a 450,000 sq ft development that will be home to a new space for Tommyfield Market, a Food Court, an event space, offices and co-working space for businesses.
Creating a Better Place, as a set of programmes, could deliver 2,000 new homes designed for a range of different budgets and needs, 1,000 new jobs and 100 new apprenticeships, and aligns with Council priorities to be the Greenest Borough.
Councillor Abdul Jabbar, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Low Carbon, said: “We are delighted to accept this grant that will help fund the installation of the latest in green technology to heat the building in a more sustainable way.
“Our Creating a Better Place programme is ensuring that Oldham is a great place to live, work and visit – and its vital we do this in a way that is considerate to the environment around us and leaves a positive legacy for future generations.
“This is the right thing to do and its reflected in the fact that this contributes to the Council’s, and borough’s, targets for carbon neutrality that we have in the Oldham Green New Deal Strategy. It will also save thousands of pounds annually in energy bills.”
The decarbonisation works at the Spindles will contribute to the carbon neutrality targets set out in the Oldham Green New Deal Strategy and will also support our Corporate Plan priority of A Clean and Green Future.
Works are also forecast to save around £45K annually in energy costs at the Spindles.
The Spindles project has been offered £2,153,354 in grant funding against a total project value of £3,956,223, requiring match funding from us of £1,802,869.
The grant funding must be spent by 31st March 2025 and we will be installing air source heat pumps to replace the gas-fired air handling units that currently heat the public spaces, along with wall and roof insulation.
Plans also include re-using the 110kW solar pnael system which is currently on Tommyfield Market and installing it on the Spindles.
The report to Cabinet can be seen here.