First residents due to be connected to £12m Swaffham Prior community heating network in June

Villagers got their first glimpse inside the Swaffham Prior Energy Centre at an open evening updating them on progress on a pioneering green heat network scheme, to which the first residents will be connected in June.

Almost 50 people attended and also saw the borehole field, where Cambridgeshire County Council and contractor Bouygues are working on the project.

The heat network will use ground source and air source heat pumps to provide thermal energy, pumped through a community network, into homes in Swaffham Prior, which will become one of the first places in the UK where such a heating network has been installed into an existing community.

Households signed up to the £12m scheme will be able to disconnect their oil boilers/tanks and use their existing central heating systems, or switch from electric heating.

Last October, there was concern that only 10 of the 298 households in the village had signed up for the scheme, prompting suggestions it was a “costly waste”, but more have come on board since.

The county council confirmed that 68 households have now signed up, while housing associations are supporting tenants who wish to do the same, meaning a further 46 Sanctuary homes and four Cambridge Housing Society properties could potentially join the scheme.

A council spokesperson told the Cambridge Independent: “The first five residents will be connected to the heating system in June 2022. We will then continue connecting residents to the system, ensuring that everyone who has signed up so far is connected before winter.”

Cllr Lorna Dupre (Lib Dem, Sutton), chair of the environment and green investment committee on Cambridgeshire County Council, said: “The open evening was a great opportunity for residents of Swaffham Prior to see first-hand the progress that is being made to deliver this innovative, renewable heat network which will significantly reduce the village’s carbon emissions.

“This project is one of many helping Cambridgeshire reach its goal of becoming net zero by 2045. I would encourage anyone in the village who has not done so already to find out more about the project and how it can not only help the environment but potentially save you money as well.”

The county council has ploughed £9m into the project and received £3m in government grants to fund the scheme.

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Inside £12m Swaffham Prior’s ‘green’ heat pump scheme