Green heat network to be extended as two more buildings added

BRADFORD’S two main court buildings have signed up to be part of the under-construction heat network that will use low carbon energy to heat public buildings.

The Combined Court Centre and Magistrates Court will become two of the first court buildings in England to be heated by renewable energy as part of the landmark deal.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service has signed a 20-year agreement to connect the courts to the Bradford Energy Network, a new £70m development which will become one of the UK’s largest lowto-zero carbon district heating network when it starts in 2026.

The energy centre that will be the heart of the network will be built on a long vacant plot of land off Thornton Road.Over the course of the two-decade deal, the two court buildings are expected to save 8,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide by connecting to the network.

Bradford Council has previously revealed that three of its city centre buildings, City Hall, the Alhambra Theatre and St George’s Hall will sign up to the network once it is operational.

The Government’s ambition is for heat networks to supply 20 per cent of buildings nationally by 2050, up from three per cent today.

Planning permission for the Bradford Energy Network was approved by Bradford Council in September, and since then there has been work to lay the heat pipes beneath city centre streets.

In its initial phases, the scheme will include 8km of underground pipework that will supply up to 30 major buildings in the city centre.

The Network will be one of the largest in the country to use air source heat pumps.

An 8 MW heat pump will be housed in a new energy centre, being built at the junction of Thornton Road and Listerhills Road. The pump will generate the equivalent of enough heat to supply roughly 10,000 homes.

To help cover the costs of connecting to the heat network,1Energy, the group behind the heat network, and their technical partners, Fairheat, supported the HM Courts and Tribunals Service to secure a £3.5m grant from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.

Marissa Granath, Project Director of the Bradford Energy Network for 1Energy, said: “Signing a 20-year deal to deliver low-carbon heating to two of Bradford’s largest buildings shows the faith and confidence HM Courts and Tribunals have in the Bradford Energy Network.”