Council scraps plan to install heat pumps due to costs

Salford City Council has been forced to scrap plans to install heat pumps in Eccles Town Hall after failing to find a contractor that could deliver the project within budget.

The energy efficiency upgrade of the hall was expected to cost around £1 million, but only one contractor successfully tendered, quoting a price £700,000 in excess of what the Council was prepared to pay.

The Council’s plan included installing six air source heat pumps along with thermostatic radiator valves, LED lighting, double glazing and solar panels, which would have decarbonised the site as part of Salford’s contribution to Greater Manchester’s target of becoming a carbon neutral city by 2038.

A report to the city council’s property and regeneration panel cited a lack of interest in the tender process, with only one of five tender requests being returned. An alternative plan has been submitted which will allow the Council to proceed with fitting the LED lighting, solar panels, and double glazing for the 114 windows in the building.

The failure of the town hall project means the Council will not be able to draw down the £346,000 it received as part of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s £1.77m allocation for the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, and makes it likely that plans to install similar systems in 84 other public buildings in Salford, including schools, will also be shelved.

Image credit: By D.A.Howcroft – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3981729