Energy Projects Help Scoop Regional Title For Second Successive Year

A closeup image of Nottingham City Council's Best Local Authority Energy award Nottingham City Council has defended its ‘Best Local Authority’ title at a regional energy awards ceremony.

The Council held off strong competition from Derby, Leicester and Peterborough to land the East Midlands Energy Efficiency Award for the second year running.

The accolade recognises one ‘exceptional’ council which has shown a true commitment to promoting energy efficiency. It acknowledges the efforts of that council and thanks them for their service to the local community.

Nominees must be able to demonstrate energy-related projects carried out in the past year and show how they have benefited local people.

Judges consider the nature, scale and scope of this work, as well as taking into consideration:

  • The impact on local people
  • What their customers and communities say about the Council
  • The level of expertise the Council has within its own teams
  • What priority is given to tackling fuel poverty within current plans
The new SpiroVent Superior S250 by Spirotech

The Council places environmental considerations at the heart of policy decisions and has made a bold pledge to work with local people and partner organisations to help Nottingham become the first UK city to be carbon-neutral by 2028.

The submission to judges highlighted that around 350 of the authority’s domestic and non-domestic properties have had energy-efficiency improvements made over the past 12 months.

This includes solar panel installation, solid-wall, roof and underfloor insulation, new boilers and smart lighting systems.

Nottingham City Council's Best Local Authority Energy award Also part of the submission were:

  • The Council’s pledge and subsequent strategy to tackle fuel poverty across Nottingham
  • The launch of the Nottingham Warm Homes Hub which has brought £1m of additional funding to the city
  • The hub being on track to install first-time central heating systems to 100 properties and provide a package of support to 1,000 vulnerable households
  • The leading Energiesprong programme which delivers major retrofits to homes, to achieve net-zero carbon standards – this is being rolled out to 335 properties

Wayne Bexton, Director of Carbon Reduction, Energy and Sustainability at Nottingham City Council, said: “We are always thrilled to have our work on energy efficiency recognised, but it was particularly pleasing to retain the Local Authority of the Year title for 2021, considering the adaptations needed due to the impacts of Covid-19.

“Staff have truly gone above and beyond to provide fantastic services that simultaneously tackle fuel poverty and reduce carbon emissions.

“This success would not be possible without the incredible partnerships we’ve established across the city with businesses, the universities and community groups, and I look forward to galvanising this collaboration as we work towards carbon neutrality.”