The first steps to secure millions of pounds of funding to make Stoke-on-Trent a great working city have been given a massive boost after the city council successfully made it through the first stage of a national selection process.
The funding would assist the city council in its bid to create a vibrant low carbon economy and improved quality of life within Stoke-on-Trent; goals outlined for the city in the council’s Mandate for Change.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council entered into the Technology Strategy Board’s Future Cities Demonstrator competition in the hope of netting £25m for key energy infrastructure projects around the city.
An application to Technology Strategy Board was made on Thursday July 5, 2012 before the successful selection of the council on Friday July 20, 2012.
To qualify for the funding, Stoke-on-Trent City Council has become one of thirty bodies to make it through the first stage of the competition - receiving a £50k grant in the process.
The money has been awarded to allow the authority to demonstrate where the funding would be used to help explore and deliver integration between waste, energy and water systems thereby reducing the environmental footprint and increasing our resilience to declining fossil fuels.
Councillor Andy Platt, cabinet member for city services and green enterprise, said: “This is excellent news for the city as it could lead to considerable investment in key projects within Stoke-on-Trent. To make Stoke-on-Trent a great working city is one of our Mandate for Change’s key outcomes so now we must explore how we can ensure that we secure this funding.”
The council must now create a feasibility study to show how it intends to achieve these goals. The submission must be entered by Wednesday November 14, 2012. A decision based on that submission will then be made in January 2013.
The study will explore the integration of physical city infrastructures such as buildings, energy, water, waste, transport facilities, with communications infrastructure to support information gathering.
If successful after stage two only one of the 30 bodies awarded the £50k grant will be awarded the £25m of funding.
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For all media enquiries contact Steven Kennedy in the Communications Department at Stoke-on-Trent City Council on 01782 232987.