A plan to tackle the climate emergency by identifying ways that buildings could become more environmentally friendly has been approved by North Ayrshire Council’s cabinet.

The North Ayrshire Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy (LHEES) aims to cut carbon emissions at buildings in the push towards net zero by identifying and addressing heat demand and areas of poor energy efficiency.

Local authorities are now required to prepare and update their strategy and delivery plan every five years to identify and address heat demand and areas of poor energy efficiency.

The new plans are mainly driven by Scotland’s national targets, which are to to achieve net zero emissions by 2045 with a 75 per cent reduction by 2030.

By 2040, as far as reasonably possible, that no more than five per cent of households will be in fuel poverty and no more than one per cent of households in Scotland in extreme fuel poverty.

The objective is to boost the energy efficiency of buildings, cut greenhouse gas emissions from the heating of them and reduce fuel poverty.

The delivery plan sets out the council’s plans to support the strategy and has been developed with consideration of North Ayrshire’s six localities, including the different types and ages of properties and their current level of energy efficiency.

Heat network analysis has been undertaken to identify potential areas for further investigation for district heating networks.

As part of the council’s latest Sustainable North Ayrshire Strategy, published last month, a commitment has been made to ensure homes and buildings are well insulated and energy efficient, making them cheaper to heat and reducing emissions. 

Council leader Marie Burns said: “As we all know, tackling climate change is a key priority for us as a council. This is a really significant piece of work and very comprehensive. 

“It is an incredible piece of work pulling all of this together and it highlights the importance of the work and also the financial challenge we have to face.”

Councillor Tony Gurney said:  “We all have our part to play in making North Ayrshire a sustainable and energy-efficient place in which to live and work.

“This approach shows how we plan to do this, and also tackle fuel poverty to improve life for our residents and businesses.

“We know that the cost of energy efficiency measures and delivering district heating systems is a challenge, and as part of the new LHEES we will explore innovative ways of overcoming that challenge, including how we leverage in new funding to the area.” 

The LHEES and delivery plan directly supports the council plan’s strategic aim to achieve net zero by 2030.