Six carbon net zero neighbourhoods are set to be developed in the West Midlands.
WM mayor Richard Parker, on a visit to Brockmoor in Dudley, the first “Net Zero Neighbourhood” in the region, said funding was now being released for six more.
In partnership with local councils, the neighbourhoods are set to be developed in Castle Vale, Graiseley, the Park Lane Estate, Chelmsley Wood, Dudley Fields and Hillfields.
Each will see improvements to local infrastructure to encourage people to walk short journeys rather than driving. And homes, schools and other facilities will likely adopt solar panels for the production of local green energy.
£3.5m for early-stage evaluation
The WMCA (West Midlands Combined Authority) will provide £3.5m of new funding for early-stage planning to evaluate ways to make the areas “cleaner, greener, healthier and more sustainable.”
Net Zero Neighbourhoods are part of the West Midland’s new “regional energy strategy,” which aims to help reduce people’s energy bills, make energy supplies more resilient and create thousands of green jobs.
The delivery of Net Zero Neighbourhoods comes on top of an additional £200m which the Mayor pledged to decarbonise 10,000 homes, 3,000 businesses and hundreds of other public buildings across the West Midlands.
