ipswich.gov.uk

Ipswich Borough Council’s Net Zero ambitions by 2030 are progressing well, with a new Carbon Neutral depot in Ipswich set to be operational by the start of 2025. 

An update report to Executive on 11 July advises that the new Carbon Neutral depot is due for completion by January 2025, in line with expiry of the lease on the current depot facility on Hadleigh Road Industrial Estate – home to the Council’s refuse, recycling, street cleaning and housing maintenance teams.

The new building is being planned to BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ rating requirements for environmental sustainability – the highest rating available – and plays a big part in supporting the Council’s carbon neutral ambitions by 2030.

The new Carbon Neutral depot will:

• Minimise energy and water usage through its design
• Generate its own power through solar panels and wind turbines
• enable the whole Council vehicle fleet to be electric vehicles or use sustainable fuels
• Reduce vehicle travelling between satellite storage sites by rationalising storage (meaning current smaller storage sites elsewhere can be re-let or redeveloped)
• offer improved working conditions.

Councillor Phil Smart, Ipswich Borough Council Portfolio Holder for Environment and Climate Change, says:

“The Carbon Neutral New Way depot is key to achieving our Net Zero target. Environmental sustainability is vital, and this new depot will enable the Council to continue meeting the borough’s refuse, recycling, and council housing maintenance needs for decades to come, in a sustainable, efficient, and environmentally friendly way.”

The full Executive report can be found online at Agenda for Executive on Tuesday 11th July 2023, 6.00 pm | Democracy Online | Ipswich Borough Council 

Image credit – Ashton Smith Architects Ltd