Call for investigation into £7m council deal

The Riverside Leisure Centre could have benefitted from a multi-million pound renewable energy refurbishment

A council is facing calls for an investigation into an abandoned £7m deal to install green energy systems in old buildings.

Exeter City Council was awarded £6.4m of government money in 2023 to "decarbonise" its two most energy-inefficient buildings, the Royal Albert Memorial Museum and the Riverside Leisure Centre.

A report for the council's Labour-led executive said it was not possible to deliver the schemes on time and within budget but the BBC has seen documents which directly contradict that claim.

The leader of the Green Party in Exeter said an investigation was needed to find out why the council had dropped the plans in spite of reassurance from the contractor involved.

Government money was awarded to install a green energy heating system at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter

The plan was for the council, which claims to want to become net zero by 2030, to install air and water source heating systems at both sites and to insulate the roof at the leisure centre.

The work was to be paid for through a £6.4m grant from the Public Sector Decarbonisation (PSDS) Scheme with an added contribution of about £870,000 from the city council.

The council told the contractor at the end of June 2024 a "steering group" had decided it did not want to go ahead with the scheme due to challenges of timescale and budget.

The council's report said the works at the museum would cost about £1m over the allowed budget.

The BBC understands a solution to locate the heat pumps on the roof was proposed by the contractor which would have been within budget but this was discounted by the council.

The contractor addressed the issues raised by the council and said the consequences of failing to go ahead would be felt most keenly at Riverside, the larger of the two projects.

It said the consequences included more than 600 tonnes of additional carbon being emitted from the site every year, missing out on saving about £60,000 a year in energy costs and the council picking up the bill for replacing a plant room and work on the centre's roof.

'Time and budget'

On 1 July 2024 the contractor wrote directly to Bindu Arjoon, the council's chief executive, and said: "We believe there is still time for the council to avoid this cost of £6.4m as well as meet its decarbonisation goals."

The email went on to say: "The upgrade works can therefore be completed to time and budget with the council saving some £6.4m due to the PSDS grant."

Ms Arjoon responded on 5 July 2024 saying the "non-progress" of the scheme was "very disappointing" but confirmed the council's decision to drop the plans.

A report prepared for the council's executive said it had spent about £550,000 so far and hoped to recover that money from the government.

Exeter City Council's Green Party leader Diana Moore is calling for an investigation into what has happened

Diana Moore, leader of the Green Party on Exeter City council, said it was "scandalous" the council was "throwing away" the £6.4m grant.

She said: "I'm calling for an investigation into the management of this project as the council seems, again, to have failed to properly deliver a vital capital project.”

Exeter City Council's executive will meet on Tuesday to discuss the report and make a final decision on the project.

A spokesman for the council said: "All of the issues will be discussed fully in the appropriate forum which is the executive meeting."