More than two fifths of councils have warned they will be unable to pay their energy bills unless their buildings are made more energy efficient, new polling has revealed.
The research shows that 44% of councillors admit that unless work is done to retrofit and decarbonise their building stock, utility bills will soon become unaffordable. Some 15% have even warned that their public buildings would become unusable.
The survey of over 500 councillors from across England and Wales, commissioned by the construction company Willmott Dixon, also found that 82% of councillors say their local authority has a plan in place for delivering on their net zero commitment.
Councillors acknowledged that there are a number of challenges to retrofitting and decarbonising their public building stock, with more than half (58%) concerned that scaling up efforts to decarbonise and retrofit their public building stock is being impacted by budget shortfalls. Almost half (48%) also cited that the scale of the challenge is a barrier.
Recent analysis by the Local Government Association (LGA) revealed that councils will face a £3.4bn funding gap in 2023-24, rising to £4.5bn in 2024-25.
The Government has estimated that the cost of decarbonising UK public sector buildings is estimated to be £25-30bn.
Jo Mills, the Willmott Dixon’s head of decarbonisation, said: ‘This is a stark wake-up call of the enormous challenge facing the public sector across the country to decarbonise and meet net zero.
‘With warnings from almost half of councils that the situation is so serious they may not be able to keep the lights on, time is rapidly running out for many local authorities to get a viable plan in place to ensure their public buildings remain fit for purpose.
‘It’s hard to believe that a year on from the pledges made at Cop26 in Glasgow, more than half (56%) of councillors are still unsure what their budget is for retrofitting and decarbonising their estates. There is no doubt that funding remains a huge barrier to this vital work being carried out, leaving many councils struggling to remain on target to meet net zero.’
