Decision details

To accept £1.3m grant funding from the DESNZ Local Net Zero Accelerator programme via GMCA;
To accept £30K grant funding from the Innovate UK Net Zero Living Pathfinder Places programme;
To appoint Ernst & Young to the role of Independent Assurance Provider to support the 15-year delivery programme, at a cost of circa £725K, £400K of which will be covered by the DESNZ grant funding and the remainder will be covered by contributions from the main Oldham Green New Deal Delivery Partner over the 15-year lifetime of the programme.
To appoint Womble Bond Dickinson as the Council’s Legal advisors for both the Oldham Green New Deal Delivery Partnership (at a cost of £100K, to be funded from the DESNZ grant) and the Oldham Low Carbon Heat Network Commercialisation work (at a cost of £150K, to be funded from the Green Heat Network Fund grant)
To appoint Carbon Co-op and First Choice Homes Oldham to deliver specific aspects of the Oldham Green New Deal Delivery Partnership project, to be funded from the DESNZ grant.

RESOLVED - That:
Option 2 (preferred option) – accept the grant funding and appoint consultants. Under this option the work to establish a Green New Deal Delivery Partnership will progress.

Option 1 – do not accept the grant funding and appoint consultants. Under this option, the work to establish a Green New Deal Delivery Partnership will not progress. There are significant reputational risks under this option as the work in Oldham is part of a wider GM programme. Additionally an alternative delivery route would have to be found for the heat network project which the Council has already accepted £8.7m in Green Heat Network Fund grant funding for.
Option 2 (preferred option) – accept the grant funding and appoint consultants. Under this option the work to establish a Green New Deal Delivery Partnership will progress.

Option 1 – do not accept the grant funding and appoint consultants. Under this option, the work to establish a Green New Deal Delivery Partnership will not progress. There are significant reputational risks under this option as the work in Oldham is part of a wider GM programme. Additionally an alternative delivery route would have to be found for the heat network project which the Council has already accepted £8.7m in Green Heat Network Fund grant funding for.

None.