Making our buildings cleaner and greener

Bury Council has been taking the lead in cutting carbon emissions – and fuel bills – at some of its most important properties.

The council has now completed works at seven corporate buildings after winning £2.5 million from the Government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Fund.

These measures will make the buildings more energy efficient, save energy costs, lower the council’s carbon footprint and help the council and the borough towards Bury’s target to be carbon neutral by 2038.

It is expected that the measures will reduce the council’s energy use by 330,000 kWh per year, saving £39,000 and 41 tonnes of carbon annually.

The measures installed are at:

Bury Adult Learning Centre

New double-glazed windows have been installed which, as well as reducing carbon and saving money, will make the learning environment more comfortable in winter and keep out the noise of local traffic.

Bury Fish and Meat Market

The scheme has paid for a new invertor heat pump, a new heat pump fed overdoor heater and a roof mounted 17kWp solar PV system to generate renewable energy. These measures will play a huge part in helping to decarbonise this building, which has very heavy energy demands for chilling and freezing perishable foods.

New Kershaw Centre

Here, a roof-mounted 10.5kWp solar PV system to generate renewable energy has been installed. This will show young people who use the centre that the council is serious about tackling climate change to protect their future.

Ramsbottom Civic Hall

A roof-mounted 10.9 kWp solar PV system to generate renewable energy has been installed. This is a major step towards decarbonisation for one of Ramsbottom’s iconic buildings and landmarks and demonstrates that older buildings can benefit from solar PV without spoiling their architectural appearance.

Ramsbottom Pool

Here, a roof-mounted 19.1 kWp solar PV system to generate renewable energy has been installed to reduce the carbon footprint and also reduce the energy bills by around £4,000 per year at this popular local facility

The Met

Again, a roof-mounted 10.5 kWp solar PV system to generate renewable energy has been installed. This is a major step forward in the decarbonisation of this cultural attraction and helps the theatre complex to deliver top quality entertainment in a sustainable way.

Bury Town Hall

Work has just finished to replace all the external windows with new double glazing, significantly improving its energy efficiency and lowering its carbon footprint.

Councillor Alan Quinn, cabinet member for the environment, climate change and operations, said: “Our ambition is to become carbon neutral by 2038, and we have been taking measures across the council to reduce energy use, cut pollution and save money on our power bills.

“As well as these schemes, we have recently installed solar panels at the council’s main operations base at Bradley Fold, and we have a £10 million programme to replace our fleet with greener vehicles.”

He added: “It needs to become the norm that every building will have ‘green’ features such as solar panels, sustainable drainage and air or ground source heat pumps.

“Bury Council declared a climate emergency in 2019, and our Climate Action Strategy sets out the many ways that we can all work together to reduce our carbon footprint.”

To read more about Bury’s climate strategy and action plan, go to https://www.bury.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=16521

• Residents thinking of installing measures such as solar panels, batteries, heat pumps or insulation to improve the energy efficiency of their home can find out more and get support at www.yourhomebetter.co.uk, the one-stop shop for Greater Manchester. Lots of helpful advice on heating homes efficiently and reducing heat loss is also available at www.energysavingrrust.org