The £1.1 million project, which included a £660,000 contribution from the European Regional Development Fund, has been hugely successful and is forecast to reduce carbon emissions by 245 tonnes a year.

The project complemented previous schemes that were centred around the Grange Park area of Blackpool. Over the years a number of initiatives had taken place, resulting in visible improvements and better community engagement within the area. The hub of the estate is @TheGrange, a community centre which houses library facilities, a volunteer hub, community café, and a hugely successful community allotment, and hosts a variety of community activity and events.

The five key elements of this project were:

Housing retrofit 

Refurbishment of 75 units on Garstang Road West to retrofit measures to improve their energy efficiency.

ERDF funded three specific elements of the improvement works including the installation of triple glazed windows and the installation of solar panels to provide lighting to communal areas. These improvements allow residents to benefit from warmer, damp free and more energy efficient homes. The project was shortlisted for a Municipal Journal award in 2022.

Provisional results show, that as a result of all retrofit work, we have reduced the carbon emissions from the buildings by approximately 108.6 tonnes of CO2 per year.

Community engagement 

Eco-coaches provided practical one-to-one support to residents within their homes to help them understand domestic energy efficiency and how behaviour can have an impact on energy consumption.

Demand for the Eco Coaching project has been consistently high – to date, 526 households have received support since the start of the project. Carbon savings to date from the small-scale energy saving measures installed in homes equates to almost 30 tonnes of CO2 per year.

This element of the project will continue to be funded by ERDF until May 2023. After which, additional funding from the Shared Prosperity Fund will be used to ensure residents across the town continue to receive energy advice to residents across Blackpool.

Public building improvement works 

Installation of an air source heat pump and roof mounted solar panels is under way @theGrange. This will provide low carbon sustainable heating for the building and will remove the need for gas heating. The projected carbon savings for this project is 35 tonnes of CO2 per year.

Green infrastructure 

A programme of native tree planting has been delivered across open spaces in partnership with local residents. There have also been improvements to cycle links, which forms part of the new housing development regeneration work, to encourage active travel within the estate.  Improvements of routes will make walking and cycling a more attractive prospect.

In the first year more than 1000 trees were planted on the estate. The second planting season is now under way with another 1000 trees due to be planted by the end of March. Improvement work to the new cycle path is almost complete with resurfacing work to be completed over Easter.

New housing 

30 new homes on Grange Park will be fitted with air source heat pumps and additional thermal insulation. The installation of the heat pumps is now underway. The projected carbon savings for this project is 72 tonnes of CO2 per year.

These results have all helped towards achieving the actions highlighted in the council’s climate emergency declaration announced in 2019, which are:

• Make the Council’s activities net-zero carbon by 2030;
• Achieve 100% clean energy across the Council’s full range of functions by 2030

Cllr Jane Hugo, Blackpool Council Cabinet Member for Climate Change, said: