£230 million green deal bid for Liverpool submitted

Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson has submitted a bid to the government for a £230 million ‘Green City Deal’ to tackle climate change and boost the economy post-Brexit.

Liverpool City Council says that the proposal would provide new skills and housing which would transform the city through new powers and funding, creating 10,000 new jobs, supporting 35,000 people into work and training 4,000 apprentices.

It is estimated that such a move would provide a £5 billion economic boost over five years, with the vision focusing on helping make the city carbon neutral, while also delivering jobs, clean air, better health, smarter travel, green spaces and warm and cheap-to-heat homes.

Building on Liverpool City Council’s declaration of a climate change emergency, the proposal would see incentives for the private sector to build more energy-efficient homes, a total of 6,000 lifetime standard homes built or retrofitted with energy saving features, as well as financial incentives for homeowners such as discounted ‘green’ mortgages, and potential council tax discounts for the most energy efficient homes.

Anderson said: “We need to be bold, radical and ambitious if we are to meet our target of becoming a net zero carbon city by 2030. This proposed City Deal centres on positioning Liverpool as the go-to place for clean technology investment, training and job creation through an inclusive and sustainable growth strategy.

“This is the right moment for us to be working up a serious bid to government, as the new Prime Minister will be looking closely at how best to support the country’s economy following Brexit, which he is clear will be at the end of October. We know the Treasury has set aside fiscal headroom to deal with the impact of leaving the EU, and we need to be ready to take advantage of this with a clear plan for our economy.

“Through targeted and long term investments in the city’s infrastructure and skills development, we can become a global destination for inward investment focussed on the new clean growth industry.”

If successful, the proposal would be the second City Deal that Joe Anderson has negotiated with the government – the first in 2012 exceeded its targets for building new schools and houses and creating jobs as well as establishing five Mayoral Development Zones.

Joe Anderson recently wrote an article on council housing in Liverpool for Government Business magazine. Read it here.