Devon council offices get eco-refurbs

£3.3 million for five buildings

A senior councillor says “we need to do all we can” to tackle global warming, as measures to cut emissions and energy usage at five key Devon County Council office buildings were announced.

£3.3 million of work will be undertaken at Great Moor House in Exeter, Taw View in Barnstaple, Abbey Rise in Tavistock and St Michael’s in Honiton to improve insulation, install solar panels and air source heat pumps, along with adding technology that recovers heat and LED lighting.

Work has already started on a fifth building, Lucombe House at County Hall in Exeter, as part of a routine refurbishment.

After announcing the project at a meeting of the county council’s ruling cabinet this week, member for climate change Councillor Andrea Davis (Conservative, Combe Martin Rural) said although the council has pledged to reach net zero carbon by 2030, “there will be no resting on our laurels.”

Cllr Davis added that five more buildings were being retro-fitted using a separate £2 million grant and solar panels installed on a number of the county’s salt depots.

On other measures to tackle emissions, she said by the end of next year 400 electric vehicle charging bays will have been installed across Devon, and that the council has bought 28 acres of land to work with the Woodland Trust on planting trees to offset emissions.

Half of the council’s vehicle fleet will be converted to electric by 2030. Cllr Davis said this will give “staff the confidence to use electric vehicles for their work journeys so they can go further and deeper into Devon.”

In a statement, she added: “We know we have to make significant improvements in our emissions. And, as community leaders, we are determined to share our experiences with individuals and organisations across Devon and take on board all the new developments in technology and research and development.”

Opposition leader Councillor Alan Connett (Lib Dem, Exminster & Haldon) welcomed the report but asked whether the council would set “a more, new stretching target” than the one planned.

Labour leader Councillor Rob Hannaford (Exwick & St Thomas) said the “key to it [was] often having realistic targets that can be met, not aiming to do things disproportionately too quickly that then we fail at, because we need to take people with us on the journey in a practical way.”

The cabinet approved the project unanimously. Work on retro-fitting the buildings will start this month and be completed in 2022.