Liverpool submits £230m ‘green’ regeneration bid to government

Liverpool City Council has submitted a bid to new Prime Minister Boris Johnson for a £230m ‘Green City Deal’ that could see 6,000 energy-efficient homes either built or retrofitted in the city.

The bid also includes a raft of other proposals aimed at making the city carbon neutral whilst delivering jobs, clean air, improved health and ‘smarter’ travel.

The council estimates the plan would give Liverpool a £5bn economic boost over five years – and includes the establishment of a Liverpool Mutual Bank to help people on to the housing ladder and support SMEs, particularly those in the green sector, start-up or expand.

3,000 new energy-efficient homes are proposed as well as a further 3,000 existing homes that will be retrofitted to modern low carbon standards.

The council also plans to offer a range of financial incentives for homeowners such as discounted ‘green’ mortgages, and potential council tax discounts for the most energy-efficient homes

All building would be linked to developing a local supply chain with businesses and their workforce able to design, install and maintain the technology used in carbon-neutral homes, as well as training up local people to work within the industry.

Mayor for Liverpool, Joe Anderson said: ‘We need to be bold, radical and ambitious if we are to meet our target of becoming a net zero carbon city by 2030.

‘There are huge opportunities for us to improve the lives of all residents across the city, whatever their age or background, with better and more energy efficient housing, use of smart technology and making sure our young people have the right skills to take advantage of the jobs in these growth sectors.

‘This proposed City Deal centres on positioning Liverpool as the go-to place for clean technology investment, training and job creation through an inclusive and sustainable growth strategy.

‘This is the right moment for us to be working up a serious bid to government, as the new Prime Minister will be looking closely at how best to support the country’s economy following Brexit, which he is clear will be at the end of October.’

The plan was also praised by Lord Deben, chair of the UK’s independent Committee on Climate Change (CCC) who said: ‘I welcome this innovative approach from Liverpool to tackle some of the ingrained challenges behind making an inclusive and sustainable green economy for the city.’

In February, the CCC published a major report into housebuilding which warned that the UK’s legally-binding climate change targets will not be met without the near-complete elimination of greenhouse gas emissions from UK buildings.

The report finds that emissions reductions from the UK’s 29 million homes have stalled, while energy use in homes – which accounts for 14% of total UK emissions – increased between 2016 and 2017.

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