Pupil power secures green heating for Devon college

Petroc College hopes a heat pump system will help it become carbon neutral by 2035

Petroc College is to get a new environmentally-friendly heating system after pressure from students to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels.

The college will replace the current heating system at its Barnstaple campus with an air source heat pump.

North Devon Council gave consent for the pump which will support 95 percent of the campus's heating demands.

Petroc, which supports 11,000 students, has a target to become carbon neutral by 2035.

The college said tackling the climate emergency was one of the five themes in its strategic plan and that it would address its carbon emissions in line with this and "increasing pressure from students".

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said the heat pumps would be located on the site of the college's former Eco House, away from residential properties.

A heat pump is an electrically-powered device which absorbs heat from the air, ground or water around a building.

The warmth it acquires is then released into the building as a form of heating.