Businesses and public buildings in Rochdale town centre are set to benefit from lower energy bills after the Government gave £1m towards a pioneering heat network powered by warmth from underground sewage pipes.
The scheme will cut energy costs for the town hall, the leisure centre, the art gallery and museum, local colleges and schools, Rochdale Infirmary, town centre businesses and social housing.
The funding, announced today by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, comes from the Green Heat Network Fund as part of the government’s Warm Homes Plan.
Rochdale is one of only four projects in England to share in over £25 million of new investment for clean, affordable and reliable heating systems.
Once built, the network will provide 28GWh of low carbon heat to buildings across the town centre by capturing warmth already flowing through the local sewer. Construction is planned to start in 2029.
The project builds on detailed work carried out by Rochdale Borough Council since 2023, when officers first developed plans for a Town Centre Heat Network in anticipation of exactly this kind of government funding.
Paul Waugh MP said:
“This is fantastic news for Rochdale businesses, families and public services, and a real vote of confidence in our town.
“Out of the whole of England, only four projects have been chosen for this funding, and Rochdale is one of them.
“Credit where credit’s due to Rochdale Borough Council, whose officers did the hard graft of developing this plan back in 2023 in readiness for the day a government would come along ready to back projects like ours. That day has now come.
“The idea is brilliantly simple. Heat already runs through our sewers from showers, washing machines and kitchens across the town. Instead of letting it go to waste, we will capture it and use it to cut bills for our town centre businesses, our town hall, our leisure centre, our art gallery and museum, our colleges and schools, Rochdale Infirmary, and homes including social housing.
“That means lower energy costs for the shops, cafes and firms that make our town centre what it is, lower bills for vital public services, lower carbon emissions for our town, and good local jobs putting the pipework in the ground.
“This is what a Labour government working hand in hand with a Labour council looks like in practice. Real investment, in real places, making a real difference to people’s lives.”
In a letter to Paul confirming the award, Energy Consumers Minister Martin McCluskey MP said the Green Heat Network Fund “plays a vital role in moving consumers away from (often imported) natural gas while ensuring that they benefit from the reduced long-term cost of low-carbon heating.”
The Rochdale project sits alongside schemes in Bristol, London and Warwickshire selected to share the £25 million Green Heat Network Fund allocation.
Nationally, a further £15.6 million is being invested to upgrade 94 older heat networks across England and Wales, benefiting more than 10,000 residents, hospitals and charities through lower bills and more efficient heating.
The Warm Homes Plan has committed £195 million a year for the Green Heat Network Fund and £15 million a year for the Heat Network Efficiency Scheme through to 2029/30.