This meeting was to decide whether to approve a proposal to accept funding to pay for the construction of an 'Adult Care Facility' to be built in Plymouth.

Acceptance of Climate Emergency Investment Funding for the delivery of the Adult Care Facility

Plymouth Council has secured planning permission to construct a new care facility on Outland Road in Plymouth on the site of the former Parks Depot. The new care facility will replace the existing provision at Colwill Lodge and The Vine.

Plymouth Council submitted a bid for funding from the Climate Emergency Investment Fund in order to ensure some of the main environmental features, including the air source heat pumps, solar photovoltaic panels, electric car charging points and upgraded building fabrics to enable us to exceed the Council’s minimum planning requirement. The bid for £469,300 was successful. The money would be used to ensure that the new facility meets the environmental standards set out in the Plymouth Plan¹ and the Council's Climate Emergency Declaration².

The report identifies a number of environmental features that the funding will be used to pay for:

• Air source heat pumps³
• Solar photovoltaic panels⁴
• Electric car charging points
• Upgraded building fabrics

The report describes some of the design features of the new building:

The project strives to achieve net zero fossil fuel emissions as per the Council’s Climate Emergency Declaration in March 2019. This is to be achieved through a balance of high embodied carbon in materials, as well as the construction methods used on site. For example, a prefabricated timber frame system with mainly mineral wool insulation and as many natural materials as possible. There will also be some external plantings and vegetation to help sequester emissions on site.

It is also to be achieved through low operational energy use and ensuring that the highly insulated and airtight building is ‘all electric’, and that maximum photovoltaics will be provided to the roofs of the new building to generate as much renewable energy as possible on site. It is also looking towards battery storage in case the solar PV generates any surplus, which would reduce the grid electricity needs at night.

Air Source Heat Pumps will also be used instead of fossil fuel fired boilers, which will work in conjunction with Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery to ensure minimal wasted heat. It is also hoped to install triple glazed doors and windows to compliment thermal efficiency and minimise heat loss through weak points in the building shell. The building will be as naturally ventilated and lit as possible without losing thermal performance, and all artificial lighting will be the efficient LED type with enhanced controls.

Councillor Tudor Evans OBE, Leader of the Council, was being asked to approve the business case for accepting the funding. He was also being asked to delegate the authority to allocate the funds to the Strategic Director for Adults, Health and Communities.