MORE community centres in Basingstoke and Deane could be powered by solar panels to cut carbon and improve air quality.

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council has announced the plan as it marked the fourth anniversary of the authority’s climate emergency declaration on Sunday, September 10.

The council’s new cabinet has added the proposal as one of the priority actions in the updated council plan, to be discussed by the scrutiny committee on Tuesday, September 19.

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The plans would see in-depth surveys carried out to assess the suitability of the council-owned buildings, including the strength, pitch and angle of their roofs. Rooftop solar panels would then be installed on suitable buildings to generate zero-emission electricity.

Cabinet member for the climate and ecological emergency, Cllr Chris Tomblin, said: “Our plans would make a real difference in the fight against climate change, making the most of the buildings we own to install solar panels on their roofs to generate clean, renewable electricity that improves our air quality and cuts local carbon emissions by thousands of tonnes each year.

“Harnessing solar power with more panels on the community centres we own could also save us and community centres money on our energy bills, money that could be better spent to support services and activities that are important to residents."

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Along with taking forward these plans for the buildings it owns, the council is also taking steps to encourage the owners of other large buildings across the borough to install rooftop solar panels.

This includes commissioning a study earlier this year to assess the rooftops of over 3,000 large-scale buildings, including warehouses and offices, to determine how many solar panels they may be suitable for and how much electricity they could generate.

The council is providing free individual reports with the results for each building to their owners, along with information about funding options including grants that could help to pay for solar panels.