Westmorland and Furness Council has been awarded £370,000 to carry out a major schools decarbonisation assessment.

The successful application for a Low Carbon Skills Fund (LCSF) grant from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero means that the council can carry out assessments on all 69 schools it is responsible for.

The grant, delivered by Salix, will support the council’s journey to becoming net zero by enabling energy efficiency and usage studies to be carried out at every council owned school.

Councillor Peter Thornton, Westmorland and Furness Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways and Assets, said: “We have 69 schools and we are concerned about the need to reduce the amount of carbon emitted from them.

“We spend £4.3 million every year on maintenance and this study will allow us to understand the scale of funding needed to upgrade them for the benefit of pupils, staff and the environment when assessing funding opportunities.”

The assessment will investigate where changes and improvements could be made to increase the green credentials of buildings and how budget savings could be achieved on school energy costs.

Council officers undertook an extensive review to support the application, the results of which looked into energy usage at every school, through a combination of energy certificates, reports and physical assessments.

They were able to draw on their experience from a previous project focussing on the council’s corporate properties, which helped their successful bid for this heavily oversubscribed funding source.

Councillor Giles Archibald Westmorland and Furness Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate, Biodiversity and Environmental Services said: “To be successful in securing this substantial grant to support our journey to become more energy efficient and carbon net zero by 2037 is a huge achievement.

“We have clear plans to get us there, through our Carbon Management Strategy and Climate Action Plan, but new initiatives and injections of funding such as this, means those plans can evolve and grow as we look at more ways to tackle the global issue of climate change.

“The school decarbonisation review will enhance the work we are already doing and will help us in applying for further eco-funding as it is announced.

“I am confident that we can create a greener, healthier, more resilient Westmorland and Furness and continue to make it a great place to live, work and thrive.”

The final report is expected to outline proposals for improvements to the buildings through work such as better insulation and options for introducing renewable energy to help schools run more efficiently and reduce costs.

Westmorland and Furness Council will be going out to tender in the Autumn to produce a carbon management plan for each school by the end of March 2025.