With Bridgend Council preparing a new round of school building – and with the prospect of a new Bridgend College campus in the future – the Education Minister has confirmed that from January 2022 all new build schools and colleges will need to meet “net-zero” carbon targets.
During questions at the Senedd earlier this week, Sarah Murphy MS (Lab, Bridgend) thought this was a “fantastic commitment”. She cited work by local school eco-committees to press for new measures on their own school buildings – such as the installation of solar panels.
Of course, a large number of schools in Bridgend are significantly older. Altaf Hussain MS (Con, South Wales West) asked what assessment has been taken of the potential costs of bringing Edwardian and Victorian-era schools up to required environmental standards?
The Education Minister, Jeremy Miles (Lab, Neath), said that as part of post-COP26 announcements by the Welsh Government detailed work will be undertaken concerning the current state of the education estate across Wales to understand what work needs to be done.
The Minister wanted that retrofitting older schools may not be easy or cheap:
“It’s not straightforward. It’s certainly not short term, and it will have a significant funding challenge attached to it as many new technologies require not simply the installation of an air-source heat pump, for example, but significant insulation and also distribution.”
– Education Minister, Jeremy Miles
